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American Board of Commissioners 

FOR 

EAJUUIIH MISSIONS. 



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Book. 




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THESE FOR THOSE. 



OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO 
FOREIGN MISSIONS; 



OR, 



WHAT WE GET FOR WHAT WE GIVE, 



By WILLIAM WARREN: 
n 

AUTHOR OF "TWELVE YEARS WITH THE CHILDREN,' 
"spirit's SWORD," ETC. 



PUBLISHED BY 

HOYT, FOGG AND BREED 

PORTLAND, ME. 

1870. 



B Vzoc. o 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 

HOYT, FOGG AND BREED, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. 






Stereotyped and Printed by 

Alfred Mudgb & Son, 

Boston, Mass. 






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TO 

Ifrjcrtew* ^Ipfteus £♦ fasted, §♦§♦, 

A FRIE1H) AND GUIDE OF MY YOUTH, 
A COUNSELLOR AND EXAMPLE OF MY YEARS, 

9^x8 Waxh is gUspwtfallg Inscribe ; 



AND NOT MERELY BECAUSE IT WAS UNDERTAKEN AT YOUR 

SUGGESTION, BUT FOR THE INTEREST YOU HA YE 

SHOWN, AND INFLUENCE YOU HA YE EXERTED, 

THROUGHOUT A LENGTHENED LIFE, IN 

LETTERS AND RELIGION. 



WITH SENTIMENTS OF RESPECT AND LOVE, 

WILLIAM WAEREN. 



Gorham, Me., Oct. 1, 1870. 



INTEODUCTOEY NOTE. 



Not much has been thought of work done for 
Christ beyond the seas, in its reaction upon the 
churches and communities at home. 

Foreign missions were inaugurated for the 
heathen nations. They are advocated and vindi- 
cated on the ground that Christ commanded 
them, that the world needs them, and will perish 
without them. This is indeed the grand motive 
to .them, and the basis of our obligation to sup- 
port them. 

But it is the aim of this book to show 
that foreign missions, in their appropriate work 
and influence, become a blessing, also, to those 
that sustain them ; that they not only convey a 
blessing, but return a blessing. 



6 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

The pamphlet entitled " Our Debt to Missions," 
published a year ago, excited unusual interest, 
and has been largely copied in both countries. 

I undertook the present work, upon the basis 
of that outline, with much reluctance, on account 
of feebleness of health, and the fear that I could 
not do justice to the subject. But the advice and 
urgency of friends whose judgment I felt bound 
to respect, and who regarded the subject as too 
important to be dismissed without further con- 
sideration, induced me to enter upon the work. 

The discussion has led me over ground com- 
paratively new. Not much had been written of 
the resultant influence of missions, save in a re- 
ligious point of view ; and on this ground there 
was much indefiniteness. Nothing had been said 
systematically and exhaustively ; while the mat- 
ters treated under the other Topics, are brought 
into form here mostly for the first time. 

I state these facts partly in the way of 
apology for defects that may be found in the 
book. It is difficult to be rigidly correct where 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. < 

so much ground is to be gone over, and so many 
authorities to be consulted. 

I make no appeal to the sympathy of the 
reader ; — but it is due to me to say that this 
draught on my time and strength affected seri- 
ously my health ; so that it was with great pains- 
taking, and is consequently with much imper- 
fection, that the work is brought to its close. 



TOPICS. 



TOPIC I. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS— AS A 
RACE (Anglo- S axon). 

TOPIC II. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS — AS A 
NATION. 

TOPIC III. 

m 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS— AS A 
GOVERNMENT. 

TOPIC IV. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS — AS 
PROFITABLE PECUNIAR 1L Y. 

TOPIC V. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS — AS AIDS 
TO SCIENCE AND LITERATURE. 

TOPIC VI. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS — AS 
CHURCHES AND CHRISTIANS. 



# 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



TOPIC I. — Pages 15-86. 

Chapter I. — The Idolatry of our Ancestors 17 

Chapter II. — The Paganism of the Saxons 32 

Chapter III. — Patricius the Keformer 44 

Chapter IY. — Columba and Columbanus 55 

Chapter Y. — Italian Missions 70 



TOPIC II. — Pages 87-159. 
Chapter YII. — Missions among the Indians 89 

Chapter YIII. — How Missions have helped the 
Indian work 99 



• 



12 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter IX. — Facts Illustrated 119 

Chapter X. — The Oregon Mission : Its grand re- 
sults upon the nation 142 



TOPIC III. — Pages 161-198. 

Chapter XI. — Aid to our Foreign Ambassa- 
dors 163 

Chapter XII. — Influence of Missions on Repub- 
lican Institutions . 177 



TOPIC IV. — Pages 199-231. 

Chapter XIII. — The effect of Foreign Missions 

on Commerce and Trade 201 

- 

Chapter XIV. — Pecuniary advantage of Mis- 
sions 212 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 13 



TOPIC V. — Pages 233-305. 

Chapter XV. — Science and Literature, as pro- 
moted by Missions 235 

Chapter XVI. — Kesearches in Geography and 
other Sciences < 252 

Chapter XVII. — Further Contributions to Sci- 
ence 267 

Chapter XVIII. — Discoveries in the Sandwich 
Islands by Missionaries 277 

Chapter XIX. — Testimony of scientific men 291 



TOPIC VI. — Pages 307-408. 

Chapter XX. — Effect of Foreign Missions on 

Christian Theology 309 



14 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Chapter XXI. — Christian Union as affected by 
Foreign Missions 328 

Chapter XXII. — Influence of Missions on the 

Spirituality of the churches 348 

Chapter XXIII. — Ways in which Missions work 
has affected our piety 365 

Chapter XXIV. — New impulse given to Chris- 
tian Charity 377 



TOPIC I. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS 
AS A RACE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE IDOLATRY OF OUR ANCESTORS. 

The ancient Britons —Their Conversion through 
Missions — Again paganized — Christianized a 
second time through Missions — Our remote 
Genealogy — Conquest of Britain by our 
Anglo-Saxon Fathers — Their gross Paganism. 

ft 

HE ancient Britons, when Caasar 

conquered them, were a fierce race 
of savages. They were converted 
to Christianity by missionaries sent to them 
early in the second century. We know 
very little of the circumstances of their con- 
version, or of their early history.' 

Britain was reduced again to paganism by 
the Anglo-Saxons from the northwest of 
Europe, and continued in a barbarous state 

2 




18 THESE FOR THOSE. 

for about two hundred years. These pagan 
Saxons, having driven the native Christian 
inhabitants from their homes and country, 
took permanent possession of the Island. 

The evangelizing of England a second time 
was also effected by foreign missionaries, a 
part of whom were from the Irish church, 
and a part from the church of Borne. So we 
are indebted to foreign missions for the con- 
version of our English predecessors to the 
Christian faith at two different periods. 

I pass now from a general glance, to par- 
ticulars. The question has arisen whether 
we have our origin purely from the Anglo- 
Saxons, or from a slight admixture of the 
Celtic with the Saxon blood. The latter 
seems the more likely to be true, as the 
expulsion of the native inhabitants could 
not have been entire. Some would natu- 
rally sympathize with the Anglo-Saxon inva- 
ders, and with their religion. They would 
therefore choose to join their fortunes and 
destinies with those of the victorious party. 



IDOLATRY OF OUR ANCESTORS. 19 

Iri subsequent conquests, other foreign 
elements were mingled with the Anglo- 
Saxon. But in all changes and adultera- 
tions, the Anglo-Saxon blood has predom- 
inated, and continued the base of English 
and American character. 

We have need, therefore, to trace our his- 
tory back but a few centuries comparatively, 
before we pass into the twilight of Chris- 
tianity, that borders on blank barbarism. 
The Anglo-Saxons, from whom we are more 
immediately descended, were Pagans in their 
continental home in the north of Europe, — 
they were Pagans when they took possession 
by violence of Britain, and drove out the 
native Christian inhabitants. 

I have said, these native Britons, or earlier 
inhabitants, were heathen until the gospel 
was sent to them in the second century. 
These, as well as our more direct Anglo- 
Saxon forefathers, would have remained in 
heathenism if the gospel had not been sent 
to them. It is the gospel that lifts the pall 



20 THESE FOR THOSE. 

of paganism from the nations, and puts in 
its place institutions and influences that ele- 
vate and save men. 

But the gospel must be carried to men. 
The heathen of themselves have no knowl- 
edge of Christianity; they have no desire 
for it, and hence will not send for it. 
And Christianity never springs up of itself 
spontaneously among the nations. It has 
need to be preached, — to be propagated 
and diffused among the people, in order to 
save the world. 

Our remote ancestors were no exception 
to this rule. They were like all other 
pagan peoples. They had their own rude 
religion, with its cruel rites and forms. 
Their religion was in accordance with their 
character. It favored their vile supersti- 
tions and tastes. They loved it because it 
did not cross their prejudices, nor forbid 
their cruelties, nor interfere with their low 
pleasures and passions. There was, indeed, a 
struggle of truth against error, of principle 



THE DRUIDS. - 21 

against superstition and the customs of sav- 
age life, when Christianity at last subdued 
the barbarism of our. British and Saxon 
fathers. 

I have intimated that the British Islands 
were first inhabited by a people whose ori- 
gin is not known definitely ; that the primi- 
tive inhabitants were conquered by Cs3sar, 
and annexed to the Eoman Empire; that 
they were afterwards converted to the 
Christian religion. 

Previously to this they had been subjected 
to the hard hand of despotism. They were 
enslaved to an order of priests called 
Druids, who practised their rites and orgies 
in groves and dark forests. These priests 
themselves dwelt in fearful caverns or 
recesses of the earth. They kept them- 
selves and their movements often in pro- 
found secrecy, and in this way strengthened 
the superstitions and credulity of the people. 

The word Druid is said to be derived 
from an ancient word that signifies Oak. 



22 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Pliny thinks the Druids took this name from 
the fact that they taught the people and 
offered sacrifices in oaken forests. They 
assumed civil power over the people, as 
well as absolute religious supremacy, and 
thus held them in complete subjection. "It 
gives us a sufficiently dreadful idea of the 
Druids, to know," says one, "that they were 
in the habit of offering human sacrifices.' ' 
Caesar, speaking of the inhabitants of Gaul 
and Britain, says, "they are much addicted 
to -superstition, and those who are afflicted 
with a dangerous disease often sacrifice a 
man for their recovery. In this business 
they employ the ministry of the Druids." 
Suetonius declares that the Druids used to 
sacrifice men to the god Mercury. Pliny 
says they considered it a part of their 
religion to put men to death, and to feed 
upon their dead bodies. Both Hume and 
Goldsmith say of the Druids, no species of 
superstition was ever more terrible than 
theirs. 



THE DRUIDS. 23 

There is some confusion among historians 
as to the time when the Druids held sway 
in Britain. Some writers regard the high 
priests of the Anglo-Saxon religion as the 
Druids of ancient time. Our Saxon an- 
cestors had, no doubt, a priesthood that held 
them in the iron grasp of superstition and 
civil subjection ; but their priests were 
not Druids. Mallet (History of Denmark) 
says, "the degrees or orders in the priest- 
hood of the Saxons were divided into 
classes. There were twelve priests called 
Drotts, of superior dignity, that presided 
over their religion and controlled the other 
priests." He admits that there may have 
been an affinity between the Saxon Drotts 
and the Celtic Druids, but not an identity, 
as some have supposed. There is, indeed, 
an affinity between all pagan systems and 
religions. The Druids, however, belonged 
to the ealier periods of British paganism. 
They were Celtic and not Saxon. Their 
power passed away when the early Britons 



24 THESE FOR THOSE. 

were subjected to Eome and were converted 
to Christianity.* 

Caesar says, in his History of the Gallic 
wars, that the Germans had no Druids to 
preside over their religion. By Germans he 
meant Saxons. Tacitus never speaks of the 
Anglo-Saxon priests as Druids, but often 
refers to the Celtic priests as such. 

The power of the Druidical priesthood 
fell and passed into oblivion, when Caesar 
conquered Britain. Christian worship was 
established ; Christian sanctuaries were 
built; the old heathen temples, indeed, 
were in some instances used for Christian 
worship. But heathen abominations had 
been displaced by Christian institutions and 
worship. That primitive people were thus 
enjoying their religion in the first centuries, 
in a state of peace and comparative inde- 
pendence, when those hard and rough men 
from the north, of Anglo-Saxon descent, 
took possession of the Island. Suddenly the 

* Henry, of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. 1, 
p. 135. 



PICT8 AND SCOTS. 25 

taper light of education and of Christianity 
was extinguished, and the work of Christian 
civilization stopped. Britain was paganized 
once more. The sun of Christian light rose 
upon Britain, one or two hundred years 
after it rose upon Palestine. It shone a few 
centuries, and then went out into darkness 
and night. 

Before the Anglo-Saxons took possession 
of the British Island, the Picts and Scots 
inhabited the part that is now called Scot- 
land. They were rival and powerful tribes, 
of the same blood evidently in their remote 
ancestry, and the same also as the Britons 
themselves. They were savages, and looked 
upon the progress of Christianity as early 
planted upon the southern portion of the 
Island, no doubt, with jealousy. Though 
often at war with each other, they made 
common cause now against the hated Brit- 
ons, and proved too strong for them in the 
contest. These Britons thought it best to 
call to their aid the Anglo-Saxon hordes 



26 THESE FOR THOSE. 

from Germany against the Picts and Scots. 
They invoked heathen allies to aid them 
against heathen foes ! They invoked 
heathenism to repel heathenism ! They 
called in a stronger race of idolaters to help 
them against a weaker race of idolaters. 
In this they did a dangerous thing, as will 
soon appear. 

Our Saxon fathers in the North were 
ready to undertake the enterprise. It was 
in accordance with their daring and savage 
nature. They were adventurers, sea-rovers, 
fierce warriors, and practised freebooters. 
They loved to engage in all bloody contests. 

They were welcomed by the simple Chris- 
tian Britons. The Picts and Scots were 
soon put to flight. There was great rejoicing 
in the land. But the Picts and Scots left 
those Britons in worse hands than their own, 
because more powerful. Yet nothing could 
exceed the gratitude and rejoicing of the 
Britons for their deliverance from the enemy 
through their Saxon allies. So these latter 



ANGLO-SAXONS. 27 

were praised and feted and worshipped well 
nigh. 

The Saxons had not yet assumed the atti- 
tude of invaders. They came to Britain by 
invitation. They came on a friendly errand, 
to aid the people in an unequal contest with 
their savage neighbors. In this they were 
successful, and so had laid the Britons under 
obligation to them. And the demonstra- 
tions of gratitude and enthusiasm on the 
part of the Britons were strong. But 
the Anglo-Saxons took advantage of this 
state of things. They coveted the beautiful 
country they had redeemed. They knew 
their own strength, and the weakness of the 
natives. They did not see why they might 
not remain the lords of the land. They 
were but a fraction of a powerful people at 
home. Their country had probably become 
crowded with human life. It was, perhaps, 
too strait for them. Multitudes, we may 
suppose, waited to come, and only wanted 
opportunity or pretext to follow their coun- 
trymen to the beautiful isle to share their 



28 THESE FOR THOSE. 

fortunes, and find for themselves a new 
home. And so, from being allies, the 
Saxons were now become "enemies. From 
being visitors they became invaders, and 
sought to take possession of the Island. 

The story of the struggle is a long and 
tragical one. It is a story of savage deal- 
ing. The Saxons were themselves several 
times repulsed, and were as often reinforced, 
till, piecemeal, the country fell into their 
hands. Paganism proved too powerful for 
Christianity in the contest, and swept it 
away from the larger part of the Island. 

The Britons fared hard in the war. Those 
who were not slain in battle, or butchered as 
prisoners, fled for their lives or their liberty, 
and hid themselves in the dark mountain 
recesses of the province now called Wales. 
There they made for themselves a home, 
comfortable and quiet as they could, and 
finally a country. They carried with them 
their religion, as well as the memory and 
experiences of the past. The toil and 
fortunes of life were to be commenced 



THE EXILES. 29 

anew. These exiled Christian Britons be- 
haved themselves with great propriety 
in their new home. Says Henry: "Af- 
ter their departure, the British churches 
were governed with great prudence, and 
were preserved from the contagion of 
heresy in their seclusion." Prominent 
among them as leaders were Dubrutius 
and Iltutus, who were distinguished for 
zeal and Christian knowledge, and for ex- 
tensive usefulness. 

The Saxons at their coming into Britain, 
as we have seen, were pagans, and were an- 
imated with the most violent hatred against 
Christianity. This appeared by their mur- 
dering the Christian clergy without mercy, 
and destroying their places of worship when- 
ever they fell into their hands. 1 

The Anglo-Saxons, having exterminated 
Christianity and the native Christian people, 
were now masters of the land. They estab- 
lished their ancestral idolatry there. A 

1 Bede, Eccl. Hist. B. 1, C. 15. 



30 THESE FOR THOSE. 

nation of rude, warlike savages took posses- 
sion of the sanctuaries and altars of those 
native Britons. These were either demol- 
ished, or used for heathen purposes. A 
pagan priesthood now stand in the place of 
once Christian teachers, and, still more re- 
motely, of the Druidical priest, that had 
passed away only to be superseded by 
another dispensation of heathenism upon the 
Island, animated by a still deadlier hate to 
Christianity. 

The Saxon invaders established separate 
kingdoms in Britain. Eeinforcements from 
Germany in time of the war usually organ- 
ized themselves into a separate govern- 
ment. There came at length to be seven 
kingdoms, styled the Heptarchy. They con- 
stituted a little empire of paganism upon 
the Island. They were sometimes confed- 
erate apparently, but were oftener in a 
state of mutual and deadly hostility. It is 
the sixth century; and heathenism again 
covers Britain, with only a slight marginal 
exception, a crescent of Christian light over 



A SUMMARY. 31 

the horizon in the north and west, whither 
the early Christian Britons had fled. 

We have simply touched upon these points 
in the history of our ancestors, but must 
leave them for other matters. We have seen 
that the early Celtic inhabitants of Britain 
were idolaters, that their priests were called 
Druids. A portion of the Island was Chris- 
tianized in the second century. The north- 
ern parts, called Scotland, were still heathen. 
These Picts and Scots that dwelt there went 
to war against the Britons. These called in 
our ancestors from the continent to their 
aid. They came, and conquered Picts and 
Scots. These Anglo-Saxons now take violent 
possession of the country, and sweep the na- 
tive Britons and the Christian religion away. 
These persecuted people plant themselves in 
the northwest, and maintain a form of gov- 
ernment and their religion in the recesses of 
the mountains ; while our Saxon ancestry, 
divided into petty kingdoms, establish them- 
selves and their heathenism in the heart of 
the Island. 



CHAPTER I*. 

THE PAGANISM OF THE SAXONS. 

Woden, their chief God — Other Deities — Of- 
fering of Human Victims — Our Relations to 
that Idolatry — Our Condition but for Mis- 
sions. 



IKE other heathen, our Saxon an- 
cestors had their divinities. These 
divinities were clothed with attri- 
butes such as the imagination of their wor- 
shippers would naturally give them. We 
should expect that their gods would be 
like unto those that made them; that they 
would be the counterpart or reflection of 
the savage worshippers. 

These gods were of course the impersona- 
tion of the different forms of evil. Woden, 
or Odin, their supreme divinity, was the 




SAXON DEITIES. 33 

god of war. The Anglo-Saxons were a sav- 
age people, passionately fond of warfare. 
Cruelty was their one characteristic. Their 
ruling passion was for revenge and blood. 
Woden, after whom our Wednesday is 
named (it used to be called Wodens-daeg, 
or day) , was supposed to inspire courage and 
give success in battle. Offerings were made 
to him, worship was rendered to him, mag- 
nificent temples were built to his honor, and 
costly sacrifices were offered to him. This 
was the deity worshipped by our savage 
forefathers as their supreme god ! 

Woden is supposed, however, to be the 
name of a deity worshipped among the ear- 
liest or most ancient Saxon colonies, that 
came as conquerors from the east, and settled 
in Germany and Scandinavia. This was 
very long before they came to Britain or to 
Europe. The legends with regard to this 
god give him a higher and purer character 
than is given to the Woden of our ancestors. 

We find in German antiquities, that in 

3 



34 THESE FOR THOSE. 

remote ages, there arose a leader of armies 
in the east, who became a mighty conqueror, 
and ruled afterwards over the north of 
Europe. He took advantage of the supersti- 
tious element in the people, and assumed to 
be the identical Woden of old. In subse- 
quent ages, as the supreme divinity of the 
Northmen, he became the object of relig- 
ious worship by Saxons, Danes, and other 
kingdoms. Thus the kings that ruled over 
the Heptarchy, the seven small kingdoms 
of Britain, assumed to be themselves lin- 
eal descendants of the great god and con- 
queror Woden, who had set up to be the 
original spiritual Woden. So the supreme 
god of the Anglo-Saxons was only a military 
usurper and conqueror of nations. 

The wife of Woden was Frea, or Frigga. 
She was worshipped as a goddess by our 
heathen forefathers. According to their 
superstitious conceptions, she was the 
mother of all the other gods, Woden 
himself being the father. 



WODEN AND FEE A. 35 

Tacitus tells us that Hertha (or earth) was 
the wife of the ancient and genuine Woden, 
whose throne and name the warrior Woden 
had usurped ; and that Frea came into the 
place of Hertha, just as the latter Woden 
came into the place of the former Woden. 
He says when Woden, the conqueror of the 
north, usurped the honors due only to the 
original Woden, his wife Frea usurped the 
honors that had formerly been rendered to 
Hertha. Mallet says she was worshipped 
as the goddess of love and pleasure, and 
bestowed on her votaries a variety of 
delights pertaining to sensuality. 

The sixth day of our week is named after 
this goddess, Frea. It used to be called 
Freas-daeg by the Saxons. It is now abbre- 
viated or christened by the name of Friday. 
The associations of the day are indeed 
humiliating. They remind us of our original 
Paganism, that stands associated with this 
day, and the divinity that presided over a 
sin that has cursed the human race more 
than any other. 



36 THESE FOR THOSE. 

The fourth day of the week reminds us of 
Thor, another of the gods of our Saxon fore- 
fathers. He was esteemed the bravest and 
most powerful of the sons of Woden and 
Frea. This day of the week used to be 
called Thors-daeg ; it is now smoothed into 
Thursday. 

The Anglo-Saxons regarded Thor as the 
ruler of the elements ; he was the prince and 
power of the air or visible heavens ; he 
pointed the lightnings, launched the thun- 
derbolts, kindled the meteors, gave fury to 
the tempests, and swept sea and earth with 
storms and tornadoes. Our fathers prayed 
to him for fair weather, for favorable winds 
and seasons, for refreshing rains and rich 
harvests. When the earth shook, they felt 
Ms power ; when the heavens smiled, they 
praised their god Thor. 

Our ancestors had a prodigious number of 
inferior deities, gods and goddesses : Balda, 
the god of light ; Mod, the god of water ; 
Tyr, the god of champions ; Brage, the god 



SAVAGE CUSTOMS. 37 

of orators. Also Uria, the goddess of 
healing ; Tulla, of dress ; Losna, of peace ; 
Vara, of vows ; Snotra, of manners. 

I have said that where any great na- 
tional characteristics predominate, these 
will most naturally be embodied in the 
ruling divinities of a people. Heathen 
men imagine that their deities, who are 
but their own highest ideals, are like 
unto themselves. So they create divinities 
in the imagination, that answer to their own 
highest conceptions of character. Cruelty 
prevailed as a characteristic in our Anglo- 
Saxon ancestors ; and we should expect to 
find an embodiment of this blood-thirsty 
element in the divinities they worshipped. 
It was so. These dark places of earth were 
literally the habitations of cruelty. Their 
supreme divinities had these characteristics 
of cruelty and vice according to the highest 
conception or ideal of their worshippers. 

Next in honor to Woden, the god of war, 
was his wife Frea, the goddess of love. 



38 THESE FOR THOSE. 

The Komans had their Venus, as well as 
their Jupiter, so our savage Saxon ancestors 
had their Frea, as well as their Woden. 
Their rites and orgies would very naturally 
correspond to the supposed character of their 
deities, and to the ruling passions of the 
people themselves. 

At their feasts in honor of the gods, intox- 
icating liquors were drank, and their gods 
were toasted at these banquets ; for they 
were bacchanalian in character. Scenes of 
fearful crime accompanied them. 

It was the custom of the people on certain 
occasions to offer human sacrifices to their 
gods. These they thought would be more 
pleasing to their deities than any other offer- 
ings. Sometimes, on going to war, persons 
of the highest dignity were sacrificed ; so when 
suffering from some great calamity. Oftener 
the victims were selected from slaves, crim- 
inals, or captives. The editors of the Edin- 
burgh Encyclopedia say, " The most horrid 
of their superstitious rites consisted in the 



RELICS OF IDOLATRY. 39 

offering of human sacrifices. The victims 
were enclosed in a large figure, resembling a 
man, formed of twigs or wisps of straw or 
hay. Then fire was set to it, and they were 
burned to ashes." 

Their sacrifices are said to have been 
offered sometimes in enclosures built of 
massive stone. One of these enclosures 
denominated Stone-henge in England is 
partly standing at the present day. The 
sites of several others have also been discov- 
ered. Prof. Silliman says that he saw, when 
in England, a vast stone or altar in one of 
these enclosures, on the face of which a 
cavity had been scooped out and shaped so 
as just to receive a human body. Fearful 
memorial this of our past heathenism, and 
of its horrid cruelties ! 

Dr. Pond says, "Our European ancestors 
were once heathens, carried away unto dumb 
idols even as they were led. They were 
the blind devotees of a senseless idolatry, 
and of bloody superstitions." He speaks 



40 THESE FOR THOSE. 

of the Druids as being the priests that ruled 
our ancestors in the things of religion, and 
presided over their sacrifices and supersti- 
tions. Perhaps he regards the Drotts, the 
high-priests of the Anglo-Saxons, as the 
same in character with the Druids of the 
early Britons. The historian Mallet, as I 
have said, acknowledged an affinitj^ between 
the Drotts of the Saxons and the Druids of 
the primitive Celts, but he did not regard 
them as the same. The Doctor may refer 
here to the Celtic element in our ancestral 
blood. 

I have taken this cursory view that the 
reader might see what would have been the 
condition of our race at the present time if 
the barbarism of our ancestors had not been 
broken up by the power of the gospel. 
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, 
thou shall dash them in pieces like a potter's 
vessel. The preaching of the gospel broke 
up that barbarism. It dashed those super- 
stitions in pieces. Those altars and temples 



RELICS OF IDOLATRY. 41 

crumbled to the ground under the hand of 
Christianity. Systems and superstitions 
that oppose themselves to Christ and his 
kingdom, must be crushed. Our doom as a 
particular race was thus averted by the 
intervention of Christian missions. 

We have only to look into the remote past 
to see in that misty mirror, a vision of our- 
selves and our children worshipping those 
dumb idols; our habitations those of cruelty, 
ourselves deceivers and being deceived, 
blinded by ancestral and indulged supersti- 
tion. We have need only to see a picture of 
the dim and distant past, and compare it with 
one of ourselves now, in the enjoyment of 
these pleasant homes and gospel privileges, 
to see the greatness of our obligation to for- 
eign missions. 

I say it is a question whether our race 
would not have run out and become extinct, 
if it had not been for Christianity as diffused 
among them. We might have been as 
those that have been dashed in pieces like the 



42 THESE FOR THOSE. 

potter's vessel. Many a people as powerful 
as our ancestors, are now no more. No 
trace of them can be found upon the earth. 
They have been extinguished, or have coa- 
lesced with other peoples. It might have 
been thus with the Anglo-Saxon race. They 
that take the sword shall perish by the 
sword. That race took the sword, and thus 
carried with them the grand element or 
instrument of self-annihilation. Great con- 
querors and conquests awaken great jealous- 
ies. Warlike nations and characters stir up 
military rivalries, and become a coveted 
prey to proud ambition or burning revenge. 
Or our race might have continued its 
career of conquest and of barbarism to the 
present time. So the alternative without 
Christianity, were extinction, or a perpet- 
uated barbarism. For idolatry never heals 
itself. Heathenism has no element or prin- 
ciple of self-recuperation. It goes on from 
worse to worse. The natural instincts and 
virtues are too feeble to stand strong against 



OUR DEBT TO MISSIONS. 43 

the power of passion, or to effect a moral 
redemption within. 

Christianity, that regenerates men and 
takes the soul up to its higher life, is not 
the offspring of natural principles. It never 
springs up spontaneously among men. It 
is not the outgrowth of natural religion. 
It was never found indigenous in any 
country, or with any race. Once in a state 
of barbarism that eclipsed the light that 
light eth every man, this would have con- 
tinued our condition and inheritance, — a life 
the semblance of death ; existence with- 
out virtue ; society without sweet companion- 
ship or safety; passions without restraint; 
the family altar in ruins; hearts without 
natural affection ; virtue unprotected ; vice 
without checks ; aspirations left to pine in 
ignorance, or of hope sinking in despair ! 
This were our condition, but for the early 
introduction of the Christian religion into 
Europe and Britain, where our forefathers 
dwelt. 



CHAPTER m. 

PATRICIUS THE REFORMER. 

His Captivity — His Conversion — His Missionary 
Zeal— His great Power and Success — The 
Banyan — Ireland Christianized. 

* HEN Britain had been reduced to 
barbarism a second time by our 

Anglo-Saxon ancestors in the fifth 
century, there was a margin of Christian 
light on the borders of the Island jet un- 
extinguished. The native Britons had been 
driven thither; it was the light of their 
Christian altars. It burned all the brighter 
amidst the mountains and vailed recesses of 
their exile. But the heart of the Island 
was in possession of the idolatrous Anglo- 
Saxons. 




PATRICIUS. 45 

The commencement of the great reforma- 
tion in Britain and on the Continent was in 
this wise. A youth, born of Christian pa- 
rents, that had been expelled from their 
home by the Saxon invaders, was carried 
away a captive to Ireland, and was sold 
as a prisoner. He was taken by robbers or 
sea-rovers. His name was Patricius, or 
Patrick. 

He has since been canonized by the Cath- 
olic Church, under the style of St. Patrick, 
and is wrongfully made a patron saint, or 
tutelary divinity of the Eomish religion. 
But this is all blindly done. He sprang 
from the primitive stock of Christians in 
early Britain, whose religion had great sim- 
plicity, and avas comparatively pure in doc- 
trine. 

Patrick was born about the beginning of 
the .fifth century. He seems to have been 
early instructed in the principles of religion. 
The characteristics of his mind and genius 
were remarkable. He was sold by his cap- 



46 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tors to a sheik or chief, who gave him the 
charge of his flocks. So his life became a 
solitary one, and he gave himself much to 
reflection. The seeds of truth sown in his 
young mind by good parents, who had given 
up every thing for their religion, began now 
to demonstrate their life and power in . his 
character. He says in his Confession, writ- 
ten years afterward : w When I passed the 
night in the woods or on the mountains, I 
rose to pray in the snow and rain before day- 
break. Yet I felt no pain. There was no 
sluggishness in me, such as I now find in 
myself (in his old age) , for then the spirit 
glowed within me ; I prayed many times a 
day. The fear of God and love to Him 
were increasingly kindled in me." 

He came more and more to resemble the 
Saviour in his love of solitude, and in 
pleasures felt in retirement from the world. 
Solitude favored contemplation and self- 
scrutiny. It gave him opportunity to recal] 
the teachings of his early life, and to revive 



HIS HISTORY. 47 

and review the past; to study the Divine 
character, and reflect on the state of lost 
men. He was in the midst of heathenism. 
He had received traditions concerning it 
from his parents, out of the grasp of which 
they had escaped. Its horrors, no doubt, 
haunted his childish fancy. But now, alas ! 
in his early youth, he was in the midst of 
it again. And, though much alone, he saw 
enough of it to chill his blood, and pain 
his deepest heart. 

But happily he escaped from this bondage. 
He was taken captive a second time, and 
was again sold as a slave in that heathen 
land. It seemed to be the will of God that 
the needed apprenticeship of a most remark- 
able "life and work should be passed there, 
and should be long. But he gained his 
liberty, and returned to his native land. His 
pious friends urged him to remain, but the 
grand purpose of his life was now fixed. 
The missionary spirit burned within him. 
He longed to go back to Ireland, not indeed 



48 THESE FOR THOSE. 

as a captive, save to Christ, but as a volun- 
teer in his cause, and as a pioneer, to plant 
Christianity there. He felt within him an 
irrepressible impulse to carry the gospel 
to those people among whom he had passed 
the morning of his life as a slave. Many 
gifts were offered him if he would but 
renounce this purpose, and remain at home 
with his friends. They sought to move him 
from his purpose by tears, but he would not 
yield. God had conquered him ; to the 
Divine will he had surrendered himself. 

So he went to the people of Ireland, to 
publish the gospel. But the common lot 
of missionaries to the heathen fell to him. 
He received insults, suffered persecution, and 
was put in chains. Thus did this humble, 
self-appointed missionary, the future regen- 
erator of Ireland, and consequently of Britain 
and other parts of the world, commence 
his labors of love. 

He was at this time about thirty years 
old, the age at which his Lord and Master 



ms success. 49 

commenced his public ministry on earth. 
Patricius was familiar with the language of 
the natives, and used to collect about him 
from time to time large assemblies of the 
people at the beat of a drum. He told 
them the story of Christ, and of the way 
to be saved. And such was the simplicity 
of his manners and the fervor of his elo- 
quence, that the people were greatly moved 
by his discourses. His preaching seemed 
to have an immediate and overwhelming 
effect upon them. Scenes occurred not 
unlike those of Pentecost. Great multi- 
tudes were apparently converted. 

Instead of churches, Patricius established 
schools or cloisters for the purpose of edu- 
cating the masses of the people, especially 
in Christian knowledge ; also for the train- 
ing up of a native ministry and Christian 
helpers. 

This reformer possessed the organizing 
power to a remarkable degree, as such men 
usually do. He understood human nature, 
4 



50 THESE FOR THOSE. 

not only by a large intercourse with men, 
but by a sort of intuitive instinct, or extra 
sense. He thoroughly comprehended the 
heathen nature and elements, in the midst 
of which he was educated, and by which 
he was now encompassed. 

He sought diligently to make use of the 
native talent and resources in his work. He 
organized his followers or converts, and 
thus sought to develop their strength, and 
to teach the people the great law of self- 
regeneration through the Spirit's work 
within them. He thus iabored through 
others, and so the work spread rapidly. 

He aimed to reach the chiefs or sheiks, 
and bring them to the obedience of Christ. 
So by interesting the leading minds, he 
secured the confidence of the clans or tribes 
themselves, and gained in this way tolera- 
tion, not only, but freedom and enlargement 
in his work. The simple peasants would 
naturally press about the man who had 
baptized their chief, and wish to know con- 



THE RESULTS. 51 

cerning the now faith, and to have the same 
rite administered to them. 

This rite was little more than nominal 
at first. But such an initiation brought 
them within the influence of the missionary, 
or native preacher. Patrick dealt tenderly 
with their weaknesses and prejudices. He 
became all things to all men in the good 
sense. He showed himself a friend and 
lover of the people. He became as one of 
them to a large extent in his mode of life 
and temporal affairs. He spoke their lan- 
guage. He adapted himself to their habits, 
and conformed to their civil affairs. He 
thus brought the- leading men and chiefs 
widely into his confidence and interests. 
The institutions he planted thus were 
rendered more easily and speedily self-sup- 
porting. He so managed as to raise up a 
multitude of teachers and preachers of the 
gospel. In process of time, the whole 
Island — wave after wave of influence suc- 
ceeding each other as from this center, and 



52 THESE FOR THOSE. 

moving onward and outward toward the 
circumference — was rapidly brought under 
the influence of Christianity. To use a 
different figure, this great providential 
movement in Ireland is illustrated by that 
oriental tree often alluded to, and so won- 
derful in itself as almost to inspire rever- 
ence in the people, — that first sends forth 
its branches, which, by a law all their own, 
reach their tip to the earth and root them- 
selves, to become each a new trunk or tree, 
and these in turn send forth a new system 
of branches, which taking root also at the 
extremities, send forth a still broader cir- 
cumference of growth and foliage, till the 
first seed becomes a grove or waving field 
of foliage and verdure. 

Ireland had become now a land of Chris- 
tian institutions ; while England, with few 
exceptions, was a land of gross heathenism. 
Hume himself admits that " by precedent 
missions from the Britons," meaning those 
banished Christians that had been driven to 



THE WORK AFTER HIS DEATH. 53 

Wales and Scotland, "Ireland had become 
Christian, and followed the doctrines of 
their first teachers, and had never acknowl- 
edged any subjection to the See of Koine." 

When Patricius died, at the age of more 
than eighty years, his disciples continued to 
prosecute the work with great zeal. A 
native ministry, after his own heart, had 
sprung up and carried forward the work. 
Christian communities, not very unlike those 
of the Moravians, were multiplied. Reli- 
gious schools and monasteries abounded, 
insomuch that Neander says "the country 
was called Insula jSanctoru?n 9 or the Island 
of saints." 

Though these religious institutions had 
some semblance to modern catholic schools 
in form or name at least, their character and 
spirit were wholly unlike these. A liberal 
learning was encouraged; the Scriptures 
were studied and circulated; married per- 
sons were connected with them. Celibacy 
was not known as a religious observance. 



54 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Ministers, like others, were married, ascetic 
notions were discarded, and the dark mys- 
ticism of the middle ages, that hung as a 
cloud over the church and the world so 
long, did not mar nor tinge this wonderful 
reformation. 



CHAPTER IV. 

COLUMBA AJSTD.COLUMBANUS. 

Columba — His celebrated school at Iona — A 
Missionary Hive — How the work went on — Mis- 
sionaries CALLED CULDEES — THED3 DEVOTION TO 

theer Work — It spreads into England — Colum- 
banus — His early life — Goes to the Con- 
tinent— His Missionary Associates and Ad- 
ventures — Their Schools — Native Helpers — 
They Awake the Hostility of Rome. 

» 
FIRST link in the chain of mis- 
^jjp sionary effort that was to reach our 
Anglo-Saxon ancestors has been seen. 
We shall proceed to show another link 
in that chain. We should expect that the 
mantle of such as Patricius would fall natu- 
rally upon a successor, who, like him, would 
be filled with the missionary zeal and with 




56 THESE FOR THOSE. 

missionary adventure. Great men have need 
to be followed by those like unto themselves. 
They do not stand upon earth like solitary 
stars in heaven, but in clusters, or in due 
order of succession. Luther did not com- 
plete the great work of reformation in Ger- 
many. Kindred spirits, awakened by his 
prayers and efforts, came to his help, entered 
into his labors, carried forward the work, 
and propagated it in other lands after he 
was dead. Like begets like not only, but 
necessitates the same, in the order of provi- 
dence and in that of human progress. 

The true successor of Patricius was 
Columba, an Irish scholar ancf missionary, 
trained at the institution in Bangor, Ireland. 
He lived about one hundred years after 
Patricius. As the heart of the latter had 
been turned toward heathen Ireland, his 
heart was now turned toward heathen Scot- 
land. 

He embarked with twelve associates to 
the Hebrides, and founded a celebrated 



COLUMBA'S SCHOOL. 57 

school or monastery at Iona, or Columkill, 
a small island just north of Scotland. He 
chose a favorable spot, insulated, or re- 
moved a little from the barbarism which 
overspread the country south, which he 
had purposed in the Lord to bring under 
the influence of the gospel. 

This school soon became one of the great 
lights of the age. Its influence and fame 
lasted for centuries. Iona was afterward 
regarded throughout Christendom as a hal- 
lowed spot. Kings and queens for centuries 
were entombed there, when finally super- 
stition had come to take the place of piety. 
It was visited by pilgrims in the dark ages, 
as Jerusalem and Mecca have since been. 
The Island and its institution were held in 
the profoundest veneration. 

But whence this deep veneration for Iona ? 
It was the birthplace of civilization for Scot- 
land, Britain, and the north of Europe. The 
institution founded there by Columba and 
his associates became a sort of missionary 
hive, from which workers went forth to 



58 THESE FOR THOSE. 

spread Christianity over Scotland, Britain, 
and Germany. It was in busy operation 
for several hundred years, and sent out a 
host of missionaries, well trained, to Britain 
and the Continent. It had an established 
reputation for thorough biblical studies, for 
scientific researches, and for Christian ac- 
tivity. 

This famed monastery, as it is sometimes 
called, was to a large extent self-supporting. 
But what it lacked of means to carry for- 
ward its work was supplied probably by the 
Christians in Ireland ; also in after years by 
British Christians. It had a single aim, — 
the conquest of Scotland and Britain for 
Christ. Its early pupils were mostly from 
Ireland. They entered the school and pros- 
ecuted their studies with the purpose of giv- 
ing themselves to the missionary work 
among the Picts and Scots. Thev grad- 
uated at the school for a campaign of life- 
service of missionary hardship for Christ. 

Their teachers often went into this pioneer 
work themselves, and submitted, like bold 



COLUMBA'S INFLUENCE. 59 

leaders, to extreme hardship and suffering, 
to inspire their pupils with courage, to show 
their love for souls and zeal for Christ. 
Columba himself spent much time in severe 
missionary service among the barbarians of 
Scotland. 

" This extraordinary person soon gained so 
great an ascendance both over princes and 
people, that he became a kind of dictator 
among the Scots and Picts, in civil as well 
as religious matters. Having obtained a 
grant of the small island Hii (Iona) on one 
of the Ebudae (Hebrides) ; he built a mon- 
astery there, which was long considered as 
the mother and queen of all the monasteries 
in Scotland; and its abbots, or preachers, 
were respected as chief ecclesiastics among 
the Scots. In this monastery many excel- 
lent persons received their education, and 
were sent from thence, not only to instruct 
the Scots and Picts, but even to convert the 
Saxons." 1 

1 Henry's History, Book II., p. 188. 



60 THESE FOR THOSE. 

These Irish missionaries were not under 
much supervision in their work, though they 
had received careful training and instruction at 
the school in lona. Each one seems to have 
wrought very much in his own way, though 
very much after the pattern of Patricius in 
Ireland, more than a hundred years before. 
The rules and principles of their work were 
inculcated at the school. And when they 
left, they took their lives in their hands, to 
be taken from them, often very soon, and 
went out cheerfully to their work of hard, 
repulsive service. They went to work for 
those who did not love them, nor want their 
service. They spake words which those 
rough men did not believe, nor wish to hear. 
They received at first the treatment which 
savages only would be tempted to give them. 
They nad no salaries, and not mjich of an 
outfit. Their work was without reward or 
remuneration from man. They launched 
forth upon a broad sea of paganism, looking 
only to the heavens for light and help ; 
rather, to Him who sitteth and ruleth there. 



TESTIMONIALS. 61 

There is a sublimity in contemplating this 
early missionary work clone for our remote an- 
cestors. It was disinterested, self-forgetting, 
heroic, hazardous. It was God-moved ! Its 
motive was love to souls and love to Christ. 
Its outward aspect was forbidding and dis- 
heartening. But the men trained in that 
school from time to time, for centuries even, 
went forth to this great work, moved by the 
command and spirit of the Great Master. 

Says Dr. Lindsay Alexander, of the Scot- 
tish Antiquarian Society, "Columba's mon- 
astery at Iona was a seminary of learning, to 
which students from all parts were encour- 
aged to repair, and from whence men went 
forth among the ignorant tribes, Pictish, 
Celtic and Saxon, to diffuse the blessings of 
civilization." 

Blier says, "Besides these missions to the 
different parts of the British Isles, the Cul- 
dees — disciples of Columba — sent messen- 
gers to preach the gospel on the continent." 
St. Bernard compares them to hives of 



62 THESE FOR THOSE. 

bees, or to a spreading flood. O'Donnell, 
punning upon the name Columba (dove, in 
Latin), says, from the nest of Columba, 
these sacred doves took their flight to all 
quarters. Dr. Smith observes, "the number 
of them that went thence to France, Italy, 
and other countries was so great that the 
Balladine writers have remarked that all 
saints whose origin could not be traced, 
were supposed to have come from Ireland 
and Scotland." 

For such wide-spread activity in the ser- 
vice of the gospel, Europe was indebted, 
under Christ, to Columba. As successor of 
Patricius, he was one of the greatest 
reformers and evangelists that have appeared 
in the church since the Apostles. The mis- 
sionary zeal that glowed in his heart was 
communicated to his disciples and succes- 
sors. How mighty and far-stretching the 
influence of one great and good man ! 

There is a special interest connected with 
this work in the consideration that it has 



OUR OWJST INTEREST IN THIS WORK. 63 

reached us in these last days and in these 
ends of the earth. It was the fountain-head 
of our civilization. From this primitive 
missionary enterprise we have received our 
Christianity. Our continent as well as a 
part of Christian Europe has been overspread 
with civil and religious institutions as a con- 
sequence of this early self-sacrificing work. 
We recall to mind our birthplace always 
with interest. We delight to trace out early 
landmarks, and set up memorials. Nothing 
is remembered with more pleasure than one's 
birthplace and birthday. This is in accord- 
ance with a law of our nature. It is so in 
national affairs ; it ought to be so. It is 
more especially so with regard to the sacred 
spot or birthplace in which our civil and 
religious institutions had their origin. A 
sense of sublimity naturally comes over the 
mind as it recalls this grand missionary com- 
mencement of good things, that gave to us 
our civilization and our Christianity, with 
their treasures of good to us for both worlds. 



64 THESE FOR THOSE. 

These early missionaries and their succes- 
sors were sometimes styled Ouldees by the 
earlier historians. A convenient distinction 
is thus made between these early Ionian or 
Irish missionaries, and the Italian or Eomish 
missionaries, of whom we shall soon speak. 

There is some doubt as to the significance 
of the word Culdee as applied to these mis- 
sionaries. It is supposed by some to be 
derived from two Latin words, cultus dei, 
worshippers of God. These men were 
indeed such as we have seen. Their 
theology appears to have been simple, 
not much obscured by the metaphysics 
or mysticism of the schools. It contained 
the elements of the simple truth as it is in 
Jesus ; elements always powerful for sal- 
vation while unadulterated with error and 
false philosophy. So they went forth to 
their work as with simple sling and stone, 
against the giant forms and shapes of 
heathenism, and with grandest results. 

They mingled with the people freely, and 



THE CULDEES. 65 

identified themselves with them. They 
came into antagonism with native customs 
and institutions no further than it was neces- 
sary. They adopted the manners and the 
habits of the people whenever it was con- 
sistent for them to do so. Their simple 
errand was to preach the gospel, and save 
the souls of the heathen. It was a grand 
errand, one no doubt upon which angels 
would have felt it a privilege to go. It 
comprehended all interests for both worlds. 

They abstained scrupulously from every 
thing that would hinder their success in the 
work. In this they were like the Master, 
who would not be diverted from the great end 
of his ministry by being drawn into contro- 
versy or side-issues. Evil men sought to 
entangle him in his talk, to commit him 
variously to secular and subordinate ques- 
tions ; but all to no purpose ! Such effort 
was lost ! He kept to his one great work, 
—the saving of this lost world. 

So these men went to their work, behaving 

5 



66 THESE FOR THOSE. 

like their Master and the great Apostles, 
becoming all things to all men, so as that 
they might by all means save some. 

God blessed their labors, the work spread 
rapidly. Native helpers and preachers were 
raised up, religious institutions were estab- 
lished and multiplied. The work went on 
very much as it had done the century 
previous in Ireland under similar circum- 
stances and influences. It finally spread 
beyond the Picts and Scots, until its tide 
had reached the Thames, and beat at the 
heart of Britain itself. Nor did the work 
stop there ; but it reached beyond the 
waters, to the central and northern parts of 
Europe. 

Another of the great men that were 
brought out by the Irish Reformation, — 
originated by Patrick, — was Columbanus, 
who, like Columba, his predecessor, was 
educated at Bangor in Ireland. He was 
more than a hundred years later than 
Columba, and went directly to the continent 



COLUMBANUS. 67 

upon his mission, and commenced labor 
among tbe heathen. Like Columba and 
Patricius, be was evangelical in doctrine and 
spirit. He came from a comparatively pure 
cburcb; and from tbe most thoroughly 
Christian country in tbe world at tbat 
time. 

It is difficult to believe now tbat Ire- 
land was tbat country, tbat tbe ligbt of 
Christianity shone there in those early 
centuries more brightly than anywhere else 
on tbe earth. But it was so from the sixth 
and seventh centuries onward, till the great 
eclipse of Christianity bad covered that 
bright orb, with the rest of the Christian 
world. 

Columbanus took with him to tbe conti- 
nent, as Columba had done a century before 
to Iona, twelve associates, after the New 
Testament pattern, who had been educated 
at Bangor, Ireland, — and in part under 
his own special care. They first went to 
France, and made a beginning of labor, and 



68 THESE FOR THOSE. 

next passed over to the pagans of Burgundy, 
and settled in the ruins of an ancient castle 
at the foot of the Vosges mountains. There 
they preached the gospel, taught the chil- 
dren letters and the arts. They endured 
various hardships and trials, as did their 
predecessors in Scotland. But God gave 
him and his associates a good degree of 
prosperity. The moral wilderness gradually 
became a cultivated field. The school that 
he planted in the ruins of that ancient 
castle, soon became celebrated; though far 
less so than that of Columba in Iona. His 
mission, that had been supported probably 
by Irish Christians in part, now became self- 
supporting. The nobles put their sons 
under his care. The mission was reinforced 
from time to time by volunteers from Ire- 
land. They aimed, like their predecessors 
in Scotland and Britain, to raise up native 
workers in the field. 

Columbanus and his party were averse 
to the papal notions, and so became ob- 



OPPOSITION TO HIS WORK. 69 

noxious to the Pope at Rome. He taught 
his followers that externals were but the 
crust or shell in religion, that every thing 
depended upon the motives and affections of 
the heart. 

He was broken up there, but the work did 
not perish. Rome had her outposts in all 
the Frankish tribes, that arrested finally 
his labors there. The priests sought to 
drive these missionaries from the country. 
They went first into Germany, thence to 
Switzerland, and finally to Lombardy, where 
they founded another monastery. Colum- 
banus passed the remnant of his days there. 
He died early in the seventh century, at the 
age of seventy-two. The result of papal 
persecution against him and his associates, 
was the wider diffusion of the gospel over 
the Continent of Europe. 



CHAPTER V. 

ITALIAN MISSIONS. 

Gregory — Desires to be a Missionary — Is made 
Pope — Augustin and his Associates start on 
a Mission to Britain — Become faint-hearted — 
Gregory inspires them with Courage — They 
go to Britain — Ethelbert, King of Kent — 
That old Church — King and people conver- 
ted — Augustin made Bishop — The two Mis- 
sionary Movements compared — Grand Harvest 
of Eesults. 

HAVE spoken thus far of the mis- 
sionary work in Britain and on the 
continent, as carried on by the Cul- 
dees, or missionaries originally from Ireland. 
I shall now speak of another missionary 
movement, that extended into Britain from 
Italy. It was inaugurated by Gregory. He 
is by some historians styled Bishop of Rome ; 
by others, Pope of Rome. He flourished in 




GREGORY. 71 

what may be called the transition period in 
the history of the church, when the author- 
ity of rival bishops in different and distant 
cities passed gradually into the hands of the 
Bishop at Eome. Gregory appears to have 
been a great and good man. Whether we 
regard him as Bishop or as Pope, he seems 
to have been ardently bent on promoting the 
kingdom of Christ. The church in his time 
held the essentials of Christianity, and was 
influenced in a good measure by its spirit. 
It was represented favorably in the person 
of Gregory, who seems to have been in some 
sense its acknowledged visible head. 

Gregory formed the purpose of sending 
the gospel to the Anglo-Saxons in Britain. 
His attention was first called to that people 
by the fact that foreign traders, or freeboot- 
ers, had exposed a company of Saxon youth 
for sale in the streets of Eome. He was 
struck by their fine appearance, and 
thought he saw in them the elements of a 
noble manhood. He was at this time only a 



72 THESE FOR THOSE. 

teacher, or an abbot, in a school at Rome. 
He learned that those youth were of a hea- 
then race inhabiting Britain. He resolved 
to go on a mission to that people, and had 
already commenced his journey thither (says 
Bede), when he was recalled by the then 
Bishop of Rome. 

After various fortunes, Gregory was him- 
self at the head of the church at Rome. In 
his previous hard experiences in life the 
missionary spirit had lost none of its ardor. 
The zeal he had when he was only an abbot 
or teacher, to spread the gospel, was 
heightened to a flame in later life, when the 
responsibilities of the church were upon him. 
He appointed Augustin, with forty others, 
to go on a mission to England, to bring the 
people of that country to a knowledge of 
Christianity. 

These persons while on their way, think- 
ing over the distance to the country, and 
the perils of the journey; of the fact, also, 
of the ferocious character of the people, 



ESTABLISHES A MISSION. 73 

and of their ignorance of the language, were 
frightened, and faltered in their purpose. 
They sent Augustin back to Eome to repre- 
sent their difficulties to Gregory, and obtain, 
if possible, a release from the appointment. 
He discountenanced their weakness, stimu- 
lated their courage, and told them to proceed 
on their mission without hesitation or delay. 
His communication was in a Christian style, 
but was energetic and authoritative in tone. 
He told them of positive success, of a glo- 
rious reward and crown in heaven, if faithful 
to the Great Master. He warned them to 
despise all dangers and difficulty, and to let 
nothing turn them back again from the 
work. 

He thus inspired his missionaries with new 
courage and interest. They went forward 
to their distant field, and began the work. 

Ethelbert was then king of Kent, the 
largest of the seven Saxon kingdoms. 
These constituted what was called the 
Heptarchy, afterwards consolidated into one 



74 THESE FOR THOSE. 

kingdom. Ethelbert was a pagan. They 
sought an interview with him at once. He 
took his own time, but at length gave them 
a hearing in the open air. They told him 
frankly the errand upon which they had 
come. He replied that he could not so 
easily abandon the religion of his ancestors, 
but they might use their best endeavors 
to convert his subjects. He offered them a 
home in his Capitol, since Canterbury, and 
told them, as they had come so far to do his 
people good, he would give them the means 
of living. 

Thus countenanced and encouraged by the 
king, these missionaries commenced their 
labors, and are said to have behaved them- 
selves with great discretion and prudence. 
They took no more from the king's bounty 
than barely sufficed for their scanty diet. 
Their severe and saintly mode of life gained 
for them the confidence of the king and his 
people. 

An antiquated church, that had once be- 



REKINDLING THE ALTARS. 75 

longed to the banished Christians, was offered 
them for their place of worship. There they 
held their meetings for worship, preached 
the gospel to the people, and baptized them 
in the name of the Trinity. 

It is a circumstance, of some interest that 
these Roman Christians were permitted the 
privilege of rekindling the altar-fires in this 
old Christian sanctuary after centuries had 
passed away. It had been built by Christian 
hands. It had been dedicated to Christian 
worship. It had been a spiritual birthplace 
and home to those simple-hearted Celtics. 
Pure incense had gone up from that altar in 
other ages ; hallowed associations had sancti- 
fied the house. But it had fallen into bad 
hands. Heathen invaders had desecrated 
that sanctuary; heathen abominations and 
uses had defiled it. It had shared the fate 
of the temple at Jerusalem, when its occu- 
pants were gone into captivity, and pagan 
rites were performed there. Other sanctu- 
aries had been burned to ashes by the Saxon 



76 THESE FOR THOSE, 

invaders ; numbers that ministered at the 
altar had been murdered with countless mul- 
titudes of humble worshippers, and other 
multitudes had left home and altars to save 
their lives, and enjoy their religion. But 
there this one old relic of other and better 
days still stood. It survived the reign of 
heathenism, and awaited the return of Chris- 
tianity to its old seats. 

The missionaries having thus obtained the 
royal license, entered the city and their 
sanctuary in solemn procession, carrying 
before them a picture of Christ and a silver 
cross, chanting, as they went, "We beseech 
thee, O Lord of thy mercy, let thy wrath 
and anger be turned away from the city and 
from thy holy place, for we have sinned. 
Hallelujah." 

Shall we doubt that these were good men, 
that they had the love of Christ and of the 
heathen in their hearts ? It is true they used 
forms and rites that are strange to us now, 
and are unknown in Protestant worship. 



DOUBTFUL MEANS, 77 

They sought to make an impression on these 
heathen through the senses. They no doubt 
made too much use of the imagination, and 
of human fear. They did not discriminate 
sufficiently between superstition and senti- 
ment, emotion and principle. Magic and 
miracle were believed in, at that time, and 
were sometimes attempted as a means of 
spreading the gospel; but great apparent 
effects followed their labors. The missiona- 
ries themselves partook somewhat of the 
superstition and fanaticism that often attend 
surprising events, and are connected with 
remarkable results. Success not unfre- 
quently turns the heads, if not the hearts 
of men ! 

In a short time the king and multitudes 
of his subjects were converted to Chris- 
tianity, if not to Christ. Augustin is said to 
have baptized at least ten thousand on one 
Christmas day. This fact is well attested in 
church history. How he accomplished this, 
we are not told. As to the genuineness of 



78 THESE FOR THOSE. 

many of these conversions we have no assur- 
ance, and may entertain serious doubts. 
The king, Neander tells us, had been pre- 
pared for this change through the influence 
of Bertha, his wife, who, it seems, was a 
Christian, though by what means we are not 
assured. 

Ethelbert bestowed distinguished marks of 
favor upon those who followed his example 
in matters of religion. But he did not make 
his own religious views a law for his sub- 
jects, but left each one to his own free 
choice. . 

In this he seems to have followed the 
example of the Christian emperors at Eome, 
in the preceding centuries ; who tolerated 
paganism in the empire, while they encour- 
aged Christianity among their subj ects . They 
held that the conscience must be free in 
religious matters ; that an enforced religion 
was powerless except for evil ; that a true 
faith had need to carry with it the convic- 
tions of the conscience and reason. The 



EXTENSION OF THE WORK. 79 

king not only tolerated, but protected 
heathenism, so far as related to the convic- 
tions of the people ; while he favored and 
promoted Christianity among his subjects. 

This new mission was now fairly inaugur- 
ated. It was apparently successful. The 
most powerful of the seven kings had em- 
braced Christianity, with a great multitude 
of his people. From Kent the Christian 
religion had extended to the other kingdoms 
of the Heptarchy, and mingled thus with the 
wave of Christian influence that had come 
from the North, and originally from Ireland. 

Augustin sent two of his associates to 
Rome, to carry the good tidings to Gregory, 
who received the news with exceeding great 
joy. Thus encouraged in the enterprise, he 
determined to neglect no means in his power 
to convert all the idolatrous Britons to 
Christianity. He reinforced the mission, 
sent letters to the king and queen of Kent, 
and a model for the government of the 
church of England, with various presents 
and relics. 



80 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Meanwhile Augustiu had been made 
Bishop of the English church. Gregory- 
advised him not to destroy the heathen 
temples of the Britons, but to take away the 
images and gods. He told him to erect 
altars in those temples, to wash the walls 
with holy water, to deposit relics in them, 
and thus make them into Christian sanctu- 
aries. We see here a tendency to- the 
superstitions that soon came to characterize 
and cripple the Eomish church. According 
to the venerable Bede, 1 he is said to have 
given his bishop direction to accommodate the 
ceremonies of the Christian worship as far 
as possible to those of the heathen worship, 
80 that the people might not be too much 
shocked at the change. These counsels 
were of doubtful wisdom. Their tendency 
was to corrupt in the end the simplicity of 
the Christian worship and doctrine. 

After the death of Ethelbert, there was a 
relapse of the church into many of the old 
pagan customs ; but in a subsequent refor- 

1 Book I. 



THE WAVES MEET. 81 

mation, Christianity regained its former hold 
upon the people. 

I have no need to go into the history of 
the extension of Christianity over the other 
and lesser kingdoms of Britain. It would be 
little else than a repetition of what has been 
stated above. I will say here, that the waves 
of Christian influence through the Culdean 
movement from the north, and those of the 
Italian movement from the south, had now 
met and mingled in the heart of Britain, 
These seven ancient Saxon kingdoms had 
come to feel the power of Christianity, as 
it had reached them from Rome, under 
Gregory, and from Iona and its monastery, 
under Columba. The exact line where these 
opposite waves of missionary influence met, 
it is not possible or necessary for us now to 
trace. It is enough that we know that they 
did meet, and as a consequence of these move- 
ments, heathenism as such was swept from 
Britain, and the land of our forefathers was 
made Christian. From this grand epoch 
6 



82 THESE FOR THOSE. 

our civilization dates. But for these foreign 
missionary movements in the distant past, 
our inheritance as a people would have been 
that of heathenism with all its horrors. 

Is it said that subsequent missionary 
movements might have reached us and 
changed our condition ? But that would not 
alter the fact of our indebtedness to missions 
for our Christian civilization. Whether it 
were in the seventh or seventeenth century 
that the regeneration of our ancestry by 
missionary effort took place, the fact of 
our indebtedness to that regenerating work 
remains the same. But we are to take 
things as they stand. Our change from 
barbarism to Christianity took place at that 
early age, and in consequence of missionary 
labor. To this work, therefore, we owe all 
we have that is dear to us upon earth, and 
all that we hope for that is blessed in heaven. 
The same would be true if the change had 
been delayed for centuries. It must come 
about in this one way, namely, through 



COMPARATIVE VIEW, 83 

foreign missions, by which all progress in 
propagating the gospel in the world has 
been made. 

If the question of the comparative purity 
of these two missionary movements is raised, 
it is easily answered. Though both were 
genuine, in a charitable view, — in motive 
and spirit the Culdean movement had the 
advantage over the Roman. It dealt more 
directly with the conscience and spiritual 
nature. Rome tampered more with the 
fears and feelings and superstitions of the 
people. It dealt too much in the sensational 
for the best results. The Irish missionaries 
thought more of culture and of schools, in 
the way of strengthening the intellect and 
character of the people. The Italians, not 
neglecting these wholly, laid more stress on 
ceremonies, observances and rites. 

And, doctrinally, the Culdees (Irish and 
Scottish missionaries) were sounder and 
more thoroughly read than the Eoman mis- 
sionaries. They thought more of preaching 



84 THESE FOR THOSE. 

than these; took more pains to teach and 
edify the church, and thus strengthen the 
foundations, than did the southern mission- 
aries, who, not neglecting these wholly, 
depended too much on impression and 
appeals to the senses. The one dealt more 
with the internal, the other with the 
external man. While the northern mis- 
sionaries had little to do* with forms and 
show, with rites and relics, the southern 
missionaries had much to do with these, 
which, in the end, paved the way to corrup- 
tion in the church. 

I would say in general, in comparing these 
two grand missionary movements, the 
strength and staple was from the north. 
The work of the Irish, or Culdees, had the 
element of durability and denseness in it; 
while that of the Italians had more of 
light-armed and dazzling visibility in its 
course. But the blended work, as we have 
seen, made an era in our Christian history, 
for which we should be devoutly thankful. 



GRAND RESULTS. 85 

Our history, therefore, is a missionary 
history. Our civilization commenced in 
missions. The American Revolution, indeed, 
advanced our nationality. Previous revolu- 
tions in England, and the consequent coming 
of the Pilgrims to these shores, gave an 
onward impulse to our civilization. The 
revival of letters still earlier, and the estab- 
lishment of human rights by Magna Charta, 
were steps in the march of our race. We 
recognize these eras, we are thankful for 
them. But we must not forget the pit from 
whence we were digged, nor the fact that we 
owe our conversion from barbarism to Chris- 
tianity primarily to the foreign missionary 
work, done for us in those early times. But 
for that mission work, there would have 
been no Magna Charta, nor light of letters 
and learning, nor those vast throes and over- 
turnings that have tended to civil and Chris- 
tian freedom. There would have been no 
May Flower nor independence, nor free gov- 
ernment upon the basis of our noble Consti- 



86 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tution. But for missions sent to us thirteen 
hundred years ago, we should not have had 
the Bible, nor the Sabbath, nor the church, 
nor the school-house. Our institutions, lit- 
erary and religious, would not have existed. 
All this vast change that has come to us and 
that has been the glory of our land, has come 
from foreign missions early planted in 
Britain. 



TOPIC II. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS, 
AS A NATION. 




CHAPTER Vn. 

MISSIONS AMONG THE INDIANS. 

The Negro and Indian Problems — Pres. Grant's 
Views — Peace Commissioners — Their Charges 
agalnst the Missions shown to be False. 

lOREIGN missions have proved a 
blessing to our nation in several 

aspects. For the sake of conven- 
ience, and for unity and brevity of impres- 
sion, I shall confine myself mainly to the use 
missions have been to the country in their 
influence upon the Indian tribes, in the way 
of preparing them for civilization and citi- 
zenship. Other considerations of interest, 
showing the use of foreign missions to the 
nation as such, could properly come in under 
this Topic; but they belong more appropri- 
ately to the Topics that follow, showing 



90 THESE FOR THOSE. 

their use to the government, and the good 
that has come of them pecuniarily. 

In treating the Indian question as relates 
to the nation, I omit for brevity the earlier 
endeavors of the Pilgrims to evangelize the 
aborigines ; as also the later efforts of Eliot, 
the Mayhews, Brainard, Edwards and others. 
These labors were of use to the colonies &s 
well as to the Indians. But as the reader is 
supposed to be familiar with those facts of 
history, I prefer to consider the subject of 
missions to the aborigines of the country 
since our proper national existence com- 
menced. 

The presence of the Negro race and of the 
Indian tribes upon our soil has been a grave 
hindrance to the prosperity and peace of the 
country. These races, so opposite in their 
nature, have long been under the yoke of 
galling oppression, or else in a condition of 
great civil disparagement. Our local rela- 
tions to them, our political obligations to 
them, have involved us in difficulty, and 



THE NEGRO AND INDIAN PROBLEM. 91 

presented problems to the statesman that 
have been hard to solve, and exceedingly 
embarrassing to the nation. Great injustice 
has been done them. The nation itself has 
been involved in the wrong. Advantage 
has been taken of their weakness, and of their 
dependence upon the 6 ' superior race." 

The problem as respects the Negro race 
has been solved, or is in the process of set- 
tlement. With regard to the Indian tribes, 
or the red men, the same cannot be said. 

Our President well says, in his recent mes- 
sage, 1869: "From the foundation of the 
government to the present, the management 
of the original inhabitants of this continent, 
the Indians, has been a subject of embarrass- 
ment and expense ; and has been attended 
with continuous robberies, murders and war. 
From my own experience upon the frontier 
and in Indian countries, I do not hold either 
legislation or the conduct of the whites who 
come into contact with the Indians, blame- 
less for these hostilities. The past, however, 



92 THESE FOR THOSE. 

cannot be undone, and the question must be 

met as we now find it A system 

which looks to the extermination of a race, is 
too horrible for a nation to adopt without 
entailing upon itself the wrath of all Chris- 
tendom, and engendering in citizens a disre- 
gard for human life and the rights of others, 
most dangerous to society." 

These sensible words of President Grant, 
supplemented by humane suggestions and 
recommendations, are painfully corroborated 
by the recent report of the Indian Peace 
Commissioners. In reviewing the Downing 
and Chivington massacres, they declare : w It 
is enough to say that these have scarcely a 
parallel in the records of Indian barbarity. 
No one will be astonished that a war ensued 
which cost the nation thirty millions of dol- 
lars, and carried conflagration and death to 
the border settlements." The Commis- 
sioners say, moreover : " The result of the 
year's campaign satisfied all reasonable men 
that war with the Indians was useless and 



INJUSTICE TO TEE INDIAN. 93 

expensive. Fifteen or twenty Indians in- 
deed have been killed, at an expense of more 
than a million of dollars apiece, while hun- 
dreds of our soldiers lost their lives, and 
many of our border settlers had been 
butchered." 

In another part of the report the Commis- 
sioners say : " It is useless to go over the 
history of Indian removals from the East- 
ern to the Middle States, from thence to Illi- 
nois and Wisconsin ; thence to Missouri and 
Iowa; thence to Kansas, Dakota, and the 
plains beyond the region of agriculture, 
where the chase is a necessity, and whither 
now we cannot tell ! " 

The Commissioners comment in strong 
terms on the effect of this policy upon the 
character of the Indians themselves, — of 
the bitter memories which such continued 
wrongs have planted in the minds of those red 
men. "It is now rather late in the day," 
say they, "to think of obliterating from the 
thoughts of the present generation the re- 



94 THESE FOR THOSE. 

membrance of these wrongs. Among civil- 
ized men, war usually springs from a sense 
of injustice. The best possible way, th^n, 
to avoid war, is to do no act of injustice. 
But, it is said, our wars with the Indians 
have been almost constant. Have we been 
uniformly unjust? We answer unhesitat- 
ingly, yes!" 

Of the administration of Indian affairs 
at Washington, the Commissioners speak 
strongly. "Nobody pays any attention to 
Indian matters-. When the progress of set- 
tlement reaches the Indian's home, the only 
question considered is, how best to get his 
lands ! When they are obtained, the Indian 
is lost sight of!" 

Speaking of those that have the direction 
of Indian affairs under government, the 
Commissioners express themselves with great 
boldness. "The records are abundant to 
show that agents have pocketed the funds 
appropriated by the government, and driven 
the Indians to starvation. It cannot be 



EFFECTS OF PARTISANSHIP. 95 

doubted that Indian wars have originated 
[largely] from this cause. The Sioux war in 
Minnesota, so disastrous to the white pop- 
ulation, is supposed to be produced in this 
way. These officers have been selected 
from partisan ranks, — not so much on ac- 
count of honesty and qualification, as for 
devotion to party interests, and [hence] their 
readiness to apply the money of the Indian 
to promote their own selfish schemes." 

I shall be excused for making so large , 
use of this able and generally candid Docu- 
ment. 1 

It throws light upon one of the most 
interesting problems that affect our Christian 
civilization. The Indian is yet to be recog- 
nized, not only as a human being, but as an 
American citizen, having equal rights in the 
nation with the white man. But the course 
taken by the government, and those wishing 
to possess their lands, has been unjust and 
harassing to the Indians, and has tended to 

1 No. 97 Exec. Office. 



96 THESE FOR THOSE. 

put into the distance the day when a mutual 
understanding can be had between them and 
ourselves, and when the privilege of citi- 
zenship can be properly put into their 
hands. 

The Commissioners make the following 
extraordinary statement : " While our mis- 
sionary societies and benevolent associations 
have annually collected thousands of dollars 
from the charitable, to be sent to Asia and 
Africa for the purpose of civilization, 
scarcely a dollar is expended or a thought 
bestowed on the civilization of Indians at our 
very doors." This statement is remarkable 
when compared or contrasted with the facts 
in the case. These gentlemen, of distin- 
guished names, make the mistake of attempt- 
ing to speak of what they were evidently 
ignorant. I doubt whether they really 
knew that there was such a body as the 
American Board of Commissioners for For- 
eign Missions in existence ; or the Presbyte- 
rian Board of Missions ! They spoke from 



THE FACTS OF THE CASE. 97 

their own standpoint as civilians, and from 
very vague impressions and narrow views as 
to religious enterprise, and missed the facts 
marvellously. 

The truth is, the American Board of Com- 
missioners has in the last half-century sent 
forth more than five hundred laborers, male 
and female, to our Indian frontiers, — not 
including native preachers and teachers 
raised up from among those sons of the 
forest. Our one Mission Board has 
expended in that time upon our Indian 
tribes, instead of scarcely a dollar, more 
than eleven hundred thousand dollars ! Six- 
teen different missions have been established 
in regions that stretch almost from the Atlan- 
tic to the Pacific, by this Board. We have 
occupied, from the first, more than ninety 
different stations. The American Board 
began its efforts for the amelioration of the 
Indian race, more than half a century ago, 
and through great trials and in most disheart- 
ening circumstances, often against obsta- 

7 



98 THESE FOR THOSE. 

cles apparently insurmountable, — at times 
with little success, at other times with abun- 
dant harvests, has labored on with great 
persistency, to bring those intractable tribes 
into the kingdom of Christ. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW MISSIONS HAVE HELPED THE INDIAN 

WOKK. 

Their Object — Tend to Civilization — Illus- 
trations — Testimony of Mr. Riggs — Varied 
Success — Indian Traits — Causes of the great 
Uprising — How Christian Indians helped — 
The great Awakening — The Value of Mis- 
sionary Labors. 



. T will devolve on me to show in 
what way, and to what extent, the 
work of missions has wrought in 
favor of the civilization of the Indian tribes, 
and how these have helped to fit them for 
Apierican citizenship. 

It is not the primary object of foreign 
missions to civilize the heathen, nor to regu- 




100 THESE FOR THOSE. 

late heathen society. It is to make them 
Christians, and thus fit them for the kingdom 
of heaven. The missionary is expected to 
labor principally for these great results. He 
is instructed to preach the gospel, and not 
the arts and sciences and industries of 
civilized life, but the gospel of reconciliation 
by the death of Jesus Christ ! And yet the 
gospel is itself the great civilizer of the 
nations. Nothing has tended so directly to 
bring the Indian tribes into a state of order 
and industry as the presence of Christianity 
among them. The gospel first, and civiliza- 
tion with citizenship will follow as a result. 
In their earliest Christian labor, we find 
the missionaries aiding the Indians with the 
plow, to prepare their corn-patches for 
planting. It soon came to be understood 
by them that plowing the ground not only 
made planting and hoeing easier, but was the 
guaranty of a better crop. The missionaries, 
without pay from government, were careful 
to see that those sent among the Indians 



FIRST OBJECT IN MISSIONS. 101 

officially were faithful in the way of teach- 
ing them agriculture. The missionaries 
worked, — and why should not the Indians 
work ? Equal pains were taken to teach the 
women to do the work appropriate to them. 
The missionary ladies taught the girls to 
sew, spin, and knit ; their mothers too were 
taught to weave cloth. The females attend- 
ing school spent a part of their time in 
learning to sew, spin and weave. The 
Dakota Friend, a newspaper established by 
the mission, partly in English, and partly 
in Dakota, had a good influence upon those 
who could read, and became a banner of 
intelligence and civilization to the tribe. 
"The teaching of the Indians," says one of 
the missionaries, "which had been continued 
wherever practicable during all those years 
of opposition and discouragement, began to 
produce manifest fruits." 

Says James W. Lynd, a young man of 
education, who was a member of the Senate 
of Minnesota, but was killed on the first day 



102 THESE FOR THOSE. 

of the great outbreak : " The influence of 
the missions among the Dakotas has ever 
been of a direct and energetic character. 
Its first efforts were directed more to the 
Christianizing than to the civilizing of the 
Sioux (or Dakotas) , but of late the mission- 
aries, though their exertions in the former 
respect are not at all abated, have been more 
earnest in their endeavors to teach the In- 
dians to plant and till. Their work has 
been a ceaseless and untiring effort to pro- 
mote their welfare." 

Dr. Williamson, a missionary to the Sioux, 
speaks of the good effects of the missionary 
work upon the social and industrial habits of 
this people. " The advance in agriculture 
and house-building is greater even than in 
religion and letters. Last year, for the first 
time, the Dakotas raised more corn and pota- 
toes than they needed for their own con- 
sumption during the year. They have sold 
many bushels of each, and some have yet to , 
spare. There are now in the neighborhood 



MODE OF LABOR. 103 

fifteen Dakota families, living in log cabins, 
and two in framed houses. None of our 
male members who have wintered here live 
in tents. The cabins consist of a single 
room, but have one or more glass windows, 
and nearly all of them a stove." This testi- 
mony shows that the gospel works out the 
problem of civilization for the Indians, and 
is thus conferring a benefit upon the nation. 
The author of The Gospel among the Da- 
kotas says : " Schools occupy a very impor- 
tant place in the missionary work. Among 
the Dakotas, the school was always subordi- 
nate to the preaching of the gospel. But it 
was nevertheless regarded as a most impor- 
tant and indispensable auxiliary. To the 
work of school-teaching all the members of 
the mission gave time, some for longer and 
some for shorter periods. The teaching done 
at the various stations in the day-schools was 
mostly in their own language. It was found 
to be the most productive teaching. Eeading, 
writing and arithmetic were the branches 



104 THESE FOR THOSE, 

taught. They learned to read their own lan- 
guage easily, and that knowledge we found 
to be helpful in learning English." He 
speaks of employing native teachers with 
most encouraging success. "The desire was 
to bring the means of education within the 
reach of all the Indians in that part of the 
country, and to encourage and stimulate all 
to avail themselves of its advantages. The 
missionaries had given much time and labor 
to the preparation of suitable elementary 
books, as well as hymns, translations of 
Scripture, and other means of instruction. " 
He says subsequently : " Education has made 
rapid progress, and with little effort and 
expense from us. Their teachers have been 
from among themselves, a most encouraging 
fact, as looking toward their ultimate civiliza- 
tion. The ability to read and to write has 
come to be valued among the Santee Dakotas 
in Nebraska and in other settlements upon 
the great prairies." All that has been re- 
quired of the mission for the last two years 



ADVANCEMENT. 105 

has been to furnish books, the Indians them- 
selves doing the work of teaching under the 
missionaries' care." This writer mentions 
some thirty American female teachers who 
have labored from first to last among these 
Dakotas to educate their children, and train 
up native teachers for the work of instruction. 

Mr. Lynd, who spent a number of years 
among the Dakotas, studying their language 
and customs, had a book in the course of 
preparation concerning them, the fragments 
of which were recovered, and are now in the 
keeping of the Historical Society of Minne- 
sota. 

In 1851, he says (Gospel among the 
Dakotas) , w A dictionary and grammar of 
the Dakota language was printed under the 
direction, and chiefly at the expense, of the 
Smithsonian Institution at Washington. It 
is a missionary contribution to science, and 
possibly it may be the means of perpetuating 
the remembrance of the Dakotas, beyond the 
time when they shall have disappeared from 



106 THESE FOR THOSE. 

the continent. The dictionary contains about 
fifteen thousand words. Prof. Henry of the 
Smithsonian Institution says, * there has 
been more demand for it (the dictionary) 
than for any other volume published by the 
Institution.' It has been distributed to the 
various colleges and seminaries of learning 
in this country and in Europe." 

Farther on the writer says, "Voices have 
come to us also from Fort Eansom, from 
Abercrombie, and Fort Totten. They are 
asking for books and teachers. The work 
of civilization and evangelization is being 
pressed upon us. We ask, does not God mean 
their redemption ? Why those four ordained 
[native] ministers of the gospel ? Why those 
other five [native] licentiates ? What means 
the large number of ruling-elders and class- 
leaders, raised up in those six native 
churches? What is the meaning of that 
army of more than half a thousand profes- 
sors of the religion of Jesus among the 
Dakotas ? What means those books in their 



TESTIMONY. 107 

language, yea, those words of Christ and 
his apostles, and of Moses and David? 
What does all this mean but the evangeliza- 
tion and civilization of the Dakotas?" 

In this way the veteran missionary puts 
the questions, and answers them triumph- 
antly himself. I add, yes, it means all this, 
and in accomplishing this, glory will come 
in some perceptible degree to our nation. 
If there be glory and righteousness in our 
future as a nation, it will be in elevating the 
degraded, purifying the sinful, in gathering 
the scattered, and saving the lost. 

As this subject is of importance to us as 
a people, — the effect of missions upon our 
nation and civilization, — I shall add other 
facts that rest upon authentic testimony, 
which go to show the good influence of the 
missions upon our Indian tribes, in pro- 
moting civilized habits, and fitting them for 
American citizenship. 

In order to correct results with reference 
to the characteristics of the Indians, and the 



108 THESE FOR THOSE. 

right method of dealing with them, we have 
need to avoid exaggeration or extravagant 
notions concerning their barbarity on the 
one hand, and of their passiveness or stoicism 
on the other. The phrase, the poor Indian, 
always injured, or ever on the defensive, 
denotes something of sentimentalism, rather 
than a true knowledge of Indian character. 
Or the feeling of horror toward the red man 
that would put him out of the way as a 
ferocious beast, grows out of a misappre- 
hension of his nature and claims upon 
our humanity. 

Says the Eev. Mr. Riggs, long a mission- 
ary among the red men : " The Indians are 
neither so bad nor so good as many would 
represent them to be. In fact, they are 
found to be possessed of all the evil traits of 
character which inhere in our fallen humanity. 
Also, all the native goodness common to 
man, that is dependent for its development 
on the humanizing influence of Christian 
civilization, is found in them. Without 



TREATIES WITH THE INDIANS. 109 

doubt, the Dakota uprising was wicked as 
well as insane. And justice demanded that 
a proper punishment should be visited upon 
the guilty." 

Keference is had here to the terrible 
uprising and massacre that occurred in Min- 
nesota in 1862, of which I will make a brief 
record. 

The government has long been in the 
habit of making treaties with the Indian 
tribes as if they were independent nations, 
and had a stable and responsible government 
of their own. This has been a source of 
great evil and mischief both to the Indians 
and to the white people. There is really no 
proper treaty-making power in our Indian 
tribes as a general fact. The chiefs are not 
so firmly seated in office, and do not hold 
any such relations of authority and perma- 
nency to the natives, as would justify them 
in acts amounting in their bearings to any 
thing like a revolution, or that would 
warrant the forcible execution of objec- 



110 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tionable treaties. These contracts, or 
so-called treaties, are often negotiated while 
t^e chiefs or counsel are not in a state to 
transact business. The interests of the 
tribe may not have been consulted or even 
thought of when the bargain was made. It 
may not have been generally known among 
the people that any such treaties had been 
negotiated. And when in after time our 
government undertakes to press such con- 
tracts or treaties to the execution, the worst 
consequences follow. 

A treaty, so called, had been made with 
the Dakotas about the year 1850, that trans- 
ferred large portions of their land in Minnesota 
to the United States. No sooner was this 
fact known than great multitudes of white 
people rushed to the Dakota country for 
settlement. Every one sought for the most 
desirable location, town-sites in great abun- 
dance were selected, surveyed and plot- 
ted, and corner lots ran up to extravagant 
prices. 



THEIR INJUSTICE. HI 

Men went everywhere seeking and occu- 
pying the fine prairie farms that joined the 
woodlands. Villages and communities grew 
up as by magic. It was a revolution in the 
Indian territory. But it was a hated one, a 
hated presence that appeared among them, 
monopolizing their lands and good things, 
and so it was that cruelty and barbarism 
followed injustice and outrage upon their 
rights. But all this proceeding had the 
guaranty of a treaty ! 

The history of the dreadful massacre of 
1862 is known to many of my readers. 
Scarcely any thing in the annals of Indian 
warfare has exceeded it in barbarity. The 
white settlers, men, women and children, 
were indiscriminately butchered, or saved 
themselves by a precipitous flight. Perhaps 
more than a thousand human lives were sac- 
rificed by the madness and merciless violence 
of the Indians within the course of a few 
weeks. 

There is one thing, however, that awakens 



112 THESE FOR THOSE. 

gratitude in the case. Tlie Indians were 
divided among themselves during these hos- 
tilities, one party doing all they could to 
destroy the white people, the other doing all 
they were able to do to save them, to help 
them make their escape, or to deliver captives 
taken in war to their friends. In these ways 
they sought to weaken the hostile party by 
forming a loyal one. This was done — let 
it be recorded — by Christian Indians, and 
such as were under their influence. Paul, an 
elder in one of the mission churches, and 
president of the Hazelwood Eepublic, to be 
referred to hereafter, was the most energetic 
and fearless in his opposition to the rebellion ; 
and under his leadership, the white captives 
were often helped to escape, and hostile 
Indians were destroyed. 

Infidelity had charged that the missionary 
work among the Dakotas was a failure ; 
that the so-called Christian Indians were at 
that time enemies to the white men. But 
the Rev. G. H. Pond, a missionary to the 



CHRISTIAN INDIAN'S. 113 

Indians, triumphantly asks, "Were not those 
Christian Indians, who rescued companies 
of our people from death, and conducted 
them through perils to places of safety? 
Were not those Christian Indians, who sac- 
rificed their all and risked their lives to 
protect individuals ? Were not those Chris- 
tian Indians, who effected the deliverance 
from bondage and death, and frequently 
worse than death, of hundreds of captives 
at Camp Release? Did not the leaders of 
that band bear Christian names given to 
them in the holy ordinance of baptism?" l 

To what length this massacre would have 
gone, if it had not been for the humane of- 
fices and unparalleled sacrifices of friendly 
Indians under Christian influence, and in the 
way of holding the insurgents in check, and 
in delivering or protecting the captives, — 
it is impossible to say. It is well known 
that our missionaries, as a result of the war, 

1 Rigg's History of Dakotas ; Records of Historical 
Society of Minnesota. 

8 



114 THESE FOR THOSE. 

proved a great blessing to the Dakotas in 
prison and elsewhere. They were useful 
to them both in temporal affairs and in spir- 
itual things. Between one and two thou- 
sand persons were apparently blessed by 
their labors at this terrible crisis. A savage 
temper gave place apparently to a Christian 
spirit. A remarkable change had come over 
the spirit of these prisoners. The penal 
hand of government rested upon them for 
their crimes. Some of them were executed, 
and died apparently as Christians die. But 
most of them were released, and are show- 
ing to the world in many instances, by moral 
lives, industrious habits, and a strictly loyal 
bearing, the great blessing the Christian re- 
ligion has been to them. 

It may not be too late to add here, that in 
addition to the alleged wrongs which the Da- 
kotas had suffered from the white men, the 
rebellion at the south, at that time apparently 
successful, had had a mischievous influence. 
The whites and those of mixed blood had 



A GREAT CHANGE. 115 

gone largely into the war. This gave the 
unfriendly Indians an opportunity to try their 
hand also at insurrection and' bloodshed. 

But waiving the causes that led to this 
shocking event, we have evidence of the value 
of the missionary work among these Indians 
at that critical time, — in dividing their coun- 
sels, in mitigating the horrors of war, and 
in arresting it before it had come to the 
worst. 

This has been the effect or influence of mis- 
sions among the Indians generally, wher- 
ever they have been established. If there 
has been hostility between the natives and 
the government, while the missionaries may 
not always have taken sides with the govern- 
ment, as in the case of the removal of the 
Indians from the Southern States to the 
West (to be noticed hereafter), they have 
always exerted a conciliatory and healthful 
influence in the circumstances. I was told 
by a missionary to the Indians in Georgia be- 
fore their removal, Rev. W. Potter, that if 



116 THESE FOR THOSE. 

it had not been for two or three mission- 
aries, the removal of those Indians would 
have been impossible, or far more disastrous 
to them, and expensive to the government, 
than it actually was. Having asserted their 
own rights in the courts, and made the 
painful and costly protest, in the way of long 
imprisonment, the missionaries used their 
influence finally to make the Indians willing 
to submit to their fate, and go to their new 
homes in peace. 

It seems but fair to take these Dakota 
Indians as an illustration of the usefulness 
of missions among the tribes generally. We 
know them better than we know most other 
natives of the forest. We have been mixed 
up with them sadly of late years. They are 
in the highway of the vast progress of our 
civilization westward. A full history of 
these Indian tribes and mixed affairs to which 
I have referred, together with the insurrec- 
tion and tragedies that followed, with the 
direct and indirect influence of the mission- 



MISSIONARY PRISONERS, 117 

aries and friendly Indians generally, cannot 
fail to show the good effect of missionary 
work among them, and, through them, upon 
the country that has had them in charge. It 
is a record that will be read at a future day. 
It will stand on the pages of history. I will 
only say now, there is no missionary record 
in the world more honorable than theirs, 
nor, perhaps, more tragical. The men and 
women in our service among those Indians, 
while they have had less to inspire enthusi- 
asm, or the spirit of romance and adventure, 
than others, have been patient and self-sac- 
rificing in their work, have braved difficulties 
and hardships with a true Christian heroism. 
Their work has been for Christ and his king- 
dom ; they labored primarily and principally 
to turn these men unto the Lord, and make 
them loyal to him. But their work has been 
none the less a work for the Nation , and in 
the interests of our Christian civilization. No 
missionaries in the world have given more 
attention to. the habits and general improve- 



118 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ment of the people where they have labored 
than the missionaries to the Indians. They 
have given attention to education, to social 
customs and culture, the arts, industries and 
modes of life among the natives. They may 
have erred here in the excess of these efforts, 
or they may have been providentially led. 
The natives were soon to become citizens in 
the republic, to take a part with us in our 
civilization, and become a part of the nation. 
It was important that they should be initiated 
early into the habits and customs of civilized 
life. This work had need to be done, and 
done as quickly as possible, though subordi- 
nate^ to the primary and principal object 
of the missions, which was a spiritual one. 



CHAPTER IX. 

FACTS ILLUSTRATED . 

Delaware Tribe — jib was — Ottawa — Cherokees 

— Their Removal — Present Prospects —The 
Choctaws — Their Fate — Chickasaws — Creeks 

— Six Tribes — Osage Indians — Oneida Nation 

— Iroquois — Shawnee — Seminole — Omaha — 
Peoria — Oregon Indians. 

CANNOT do justice to this subject, 
without giving some general views 
of the work among the several 
Indian tribes whese missions have been 
established. Some of these missions have 
been broken up by violence, some of them 
had done their work and retired, or gave it 
over to other hands, or yielded it up to the 
Home Missionary Society, as the waves of 
civilization have rolled on westward. But it 




120 THESE FOR THOSE. 

will be seen that in almost every case where 
a mission has been planted among the 
Indians of our country, there has been a 
degree of success, and in some instances 
there has been marvellous success. The 
nation as such is reaping the benefits of that 
success at the present time. Many a tribe, 
softened in temper and habit by Christian 
culture, and that had turned toward civil- 
ized life, has disappeared, to mingle with 
other tribes or join some other destiny. I 
contend, however, that the Indian element 
is a different thing to deal with now from 
what it would have been if it had not been 
for the hand of Christian civilization. The 
leaven of gospel influence had been dif- 
fused among them; thjs steps that remain 
to be taken to bring the red man into the 
ranks of our civilization will be shorter and 
easier by reason of what has been done for 
them by Christian missions. The mixing or 
blending of Indian tribes in the country, 
their breaking up often into parts, and coming 



JOHN STEWARD. 121 

again into new relations and combinations, 
taking indeed new names in consequence, 
may have led to some confusion of facts, 
dates, and tribes possibly in this work. I 
am indebted here to various sources of infor- 
mation, — Annual Reports, publications of 
the American Board, Eecords of Historical 
Societies, the works of Newcomb, Kiggs, 
Williamson and others. 

Delaware Tribe, with Wyandots and 
others, near the Sandusky river. The way 
was opened for mission work among them in 
a remarkable manner. Several chiefs were 
converted and became useful in Christian 
work. Hundreds were hopefully converted. 
This work was began by John Steward, a free 
colored Virginian. He became a Christian 
hopefully, and was moved to undertake 
some kind of missionary work. Though 
he had not much education, he felt deeply 
impressed that it was his duty to call 
sinners to repentance. His mind seemed to 
be drawn toward the northwest, to labor 



122 THESE FOR THOSE. 

among some people to whom he was then 
a stranger. He forsook all, and went alone 
toward that unknown land. Like others 
of his brethren who went north for their 
liberty, he struck a straight course through 
wildernesses, across mountains and rivers, 
without bridges or highways or compass. 

He finally reached the Sandusky River, 
where was a tribe of the Delaware Indians. 
This was the place whither the Lord had 
led him. He went into one of the cabins 
and seated himself. But he found that they 
did not understand his language. And 
they were making ready for an Indian 
dance, and soon commenced their orgies 
with such frantic zeal that Steward was 
terrified at first. At the close of the dance, 
he began to sing, and when he ceased, they 
asked him to sing more. Silence reigned in 
the assembly at once. He then spoke to 
them, through an interpreter, on the subject 
of religion. 

At another feast, Steward £ave them a 



CHRISTIAN INFLUENCE. 123 

second discourse, expatiating upon prac- 
tical religion. They listened with respect- 
ful attention. He then gave out notice of 
a meeting at the house of his interpreter ; 
but instead of a large assembly, only one 
old woman attended. But he preached as 
earnestly as if hundreds were present. The 
next day two were there. His audience 
began to increase. He went from cabin to 
cabin, talking and singing and praying with 
the Indians. Soon large crowds flocked to 
his meetings, and such was their concern 
upon spiritual subjects, that they almost 
entirely neglected their secular business. 
Steward persevered in his work, and God 
blessed his labors. He had already been 
licensed as a preacher, and God made him 
instrumental in opening the way to a perma- 
nent mission among the Dela wares on the 
Sandusky, by the Methodist people. But 
his fatiguing labors and fastings wore upon 
his body, and laid the foundations of his 
premature death. 



124 THESE FOR THOSE, 

Notice these facts. An ignorant man, with- 
out license, appointment or patrons, turns 
his back upon all that he loves, and goes, he 
knows not where, under the guidance of an 
unusual impulse, to find a place where he 
could labor for Christ. He falls among In- 
dians. He is a stranger to them, and they 
to him. He did not know a word of their 
language. The Indian instinct revolts 
against his color and features. He is of a 
despised race, despised even of the Indians. 
But the melody of his voice attracts them, 
charms them ! The saintliness of his ap- 
pearance touches them. At length, his 
words and appeals thrill them. Souls are 
converted. His ridiculing interpreter, who 
used to protest against the message as he 
translated it, at last surrenders himself to 
the truth. His influence comes to be. felt 
upon the whole tribe ; and gradually their 
heathen habits give place to Christian wor- 
ship ! What is this but the power of God ? 
Surely he chooses the things that are not, to 



0J1BWA INDIANS. 125 

bring to naught the things that are. God 
works by means that most honor him. He 
chose to plant that mission to bless a 
humble few of his chosen ones of the red 
race, by the instrumentality of the hum- 
blest hands. 

The Ojibwa Indians were located near 
Lake Superior, and upon the head-waters 
of the Mississippi. The mission was estab- 
lished in 1828. The circumstances and 
character of the Indians were such as to 
involve great hardship and privation on the 
part of the missionaries. Several stations 
were established, schools were opened, a 
church was formed, and books were printed. 
Some progress was made in civilization. 
The natives learned to build houses, to till 
the soil, and raise crops. The Indians were 
taught to read and write. A part of the 
Bible was translated into their language. 
Various changes and fortunes came to these 
Indians. Mr. Wheeler, in the Herald, 
Sept., 1854, said: "The past year has been 



126 THESE FOR THOSE. 

one of progress among this people. Our 
meetings upon the Sabbath have been well 
attended. A number of Indians, including 
three of their chiefs, have identified them- 
selves with the Christian party, and call 
themselves praying Indians. They were 
never more disposed to listen to the truth 
than now." 

Ottawa Indians, associated with the 
Kickapoos and Putawatomes, were located 
formerly in Indiana, speaking the same 
language and existing in the same social 
condition. Missionary efforts w r ere made 
among them as early as 1817. The confi- 
dence of some of the chiefs was secured. 
A church was formed. Prejudice began to 
give way, especially on the part of the 
Ottawas. Attention was given to the out- 
ward improvement of the people. At length 
more prominence was given to their spiritual 
welfare. A chief, called Noonday, was con- 
verted, who made special efforts to promote 
good morals among his people. Eight 



CHEROKEES. 127 

Indian youths were sent to the Academy at 
Hamilton, N. Y., to receive a fuller educa- 
tion. The prospects of the tribe began to 
brighten, when the billow of emigration 
swept them westward to the Indian Territory, 
beyond the Mississippi. But in their new 
relations they carry the leaven of the gospel 
with them. 

Cherokee Indians inhabited the northern 
part of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennes- 
see. A mission was established among these 
Indians in 1817. The Moravians, or United 
Brethren, had labored among this tribe, as 
also Christians from the States. They 
inhabited a region of country, held by 
treaty, as large perhaps as the State of 
Massachusetts. And the number of the 
tribe was greater than that in several of 
the territories of our country, and in some 
of the States that have been received into the 
Union. Through the labors of missionaries 
principally, who had attended to education 
and the social welfare of the people, this 



128 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tribe had become in some good degree civil- 
ized. They had come to live in houses, had 
farms, raised stock, builded churches, and 
had courts of justice. They maintained 
schools and other institutions of civilization. 
They were thoroughly domesticated, and to 
a large extent Christianized. A larger por- 
tion of the people were connected with the 
church, than, perhaps, of those in the sur- 
rounding States. 

The story of their removal by the General 
Government to the Indian Territory west of 
Arkansas, is an old story, and need not be 
repeated here in its horrid details. 

A modern writer has taught that emigra- 
tion tends to barbarism. If it be so, what 
must be the effect of forced emigration, and 
the violent breaking up of early and 
endeared associations ? This movement, 
though not well meant, was no doubt provi- 
dential, and. has resulted in ultimate good to 
those Indians. They were taken from a 
greater evil to come, were saved from a 



CHOC TAWS. 129 

greater oppression, and a more terrible fate 
in common with those States. They have 
now a home guaranteed them, which no 
power would dare attempt to take away 
from them. What was lost in point of civ- 
ilization and general prosperity, has been 
providentially regained since in their new 
home. They have now more than they 
were forced to leave. They are virtually a 
Christian people, and together with other 
tribes to which we shall have occasion to 
refer, will no doubt soon take their place as 
a Christian State in the American Union. 

The Choctaw Indians had their location 
in the State of Mississippi, — their territory 
reaching from side to side of the State, 
thus dividing it into two parts. They were, 
of course, inconvenient neighbors to the 
Mississippians. A mission was established 
among them in 1818, by the American 
Board. The tragical story and fate of the 
Cherokees, their immediate neighbors, as 
touching the removal to the West, is theirs 



130 THESE FOR THOSE. 

also. This mission was not at first so suc- 
cessful as that among the Cherokees. They 
were less inclined to Christianity and to civ- 
ilized life. Their habits as touching intem- 
perance, infanticide and other abominations 
were grossly bad. But after many years of 
patient toil, the missionaries began to see 
the fruit of their labor, in better habits, 
better laws, and enlarged spiritual pros- 
perity. The Choctaw prohibitory law ante- 
dates the "Maine law" by many years. The 
abominable practice of infanticide was abol- 
ished ; rules of civilized and social life were 
adopted ; and the Choctaws came to stand 
on a social and Christian level with the 
Cherokees, and perhaps with many of their 
white neighbors around them. 

We find them at last in their new and 
distant homes ; but, alas ! more than deci- 
mated by the removal. They are neighbors 
again to the Cherokees : and have since 
kept pace with them in the arts of civiliza- 
tion, and Will soon stand with them in the 



CHICKASAW INDIANS. 131 

rights of American citizenship. These facts 
must be taken into the account as we calcu- 
late the benefits of our missionary work to 
the nation. 

Chickasaw Indians. These occupied the 
extreme northern part of Mississippi. Their 
tribe was small as compared with their 
neighbors, the Choctaws and Cherokees. 
Missionary operations were commenced 
among them about the year 1820. A few 
years afterward, the American Board estab- 
lished a mission there. An extensive re- 
vival of religion followed. The blessing 
extended to several of the stations. The 
Indians came long distances to hear the 
word of God. The worst characters were 
subjects of this revival. Schools were 
established, temperance pre vailed, and 
civilized customs took the place of savage 
irregularities. 

But, alas ! the tide turned. They came 
under the yoke of State laws. They were 
transferred to the West, where they mingled 



132 THESE FOR THOSE. 

with other tribes. A part of them, however, 
have come to share in the civilization of the 
Choctaws. 

Creek Indians. A mission was estab- 
lished in this tribe in 1822. They re- 
sided within the limits of the States of 
Georgia and Alabama. In 1832 the Ameri- 
can Board established a mission there, which 
continued for a short time. These Indians 
were removed to the territory west of 
Arkansas about the year 1833. The tribe 
then numbered about twenty thousand. 

Though a measure of success attended 
these early missionary labors, the Creeks 
were found to be a hard people to bring 
under Christian influence. A part of the 
Bible was printed in their language. Other 
books were prepared. Hymns were com- 
posed, and sung at their meetings, in their 
own language. They are now located in the 
Indian Territory, and will probably soon be 
taken, with other tribes, into the National 
Union. 



THE SIX TRIBES. 133 

Putawatome Ixdiaxs. These were a 
small tribe. A mission was established 
among them in 1823, on Fox River, in the 
vicinity of Fort Clark. Schools were set 
up, and civilized customs progressed. A 
revival of religion was enjoyed, and more 
than a hundred joined the church. A rill of 
good for the country, as well as for the king- 
dom, has followed these beginnings. 

The Six Tribes reside in Western New 
York. Missionary labor began among them 
through the American Board, in 1826. 
Christian effort had been made there before 
this time. Several stations were established 
by the Board. They have advanced in 
civilization since. Attention has been given 
to education and the various industrial arts. 
They had a missionary press, that proved 
very useful to the people. From time to 
time revivals of religion have been enjoyed ; 
the spirit of benevolence has been encour- 
aged, and religious ordinances maintained. 
Civilians in New York regard this work with 
favor, and as a good to the State. 



134 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Osage Indians. The mission among these 
was commenced in 1820. They dwelt 
in the State of Missouri. A division of the 
tribe, called Neoshoo, inhabited a territory 
w r est of the State. The first efforts here were 
made by the Presbyterians. The American 
Board entered the field a few years after. 
The tribe was at length removed to the 
Indian Territory. The Board said in their 
Report, in substance: "A very few have 
left their former migratory habits, or ex- 
changed their absurd superstitions for Chris- 
tian doctrines and practice. Some have been 
educated, and a small number have em- 
braced the gospel. Something has been 
done for them that will tell on their future 
civilization." 

Oneida Indians. A mission was com- 
menced here about the year 1830, by a 
young Indian of the Mohawk tribe, and with 
much success. More than a hundred made 
a profession of religion. The missionary- 
spirit prevailed among the people. They 



ONEIDA INDIANS. 135 

carried the gospel to the Qnondagas, where 
many were converted. They carried the 
gospel to still other tribes, where churches 
were formed, and schools were established. 
Many hundreds were hopefully renewed 
through these missionary labors. And, as 
would be expected, civilized habits and arts 
soon took the place of heathen customs. 
The work began in the true missionary spirit, 
burning in the heart of this young converted 
Mohawk, who, without commission or ap- 
pointment, set up the standard of the cross 
in this poor tribe. It is not wonderful that 
the converts came to possess the same spirit, 
and were moved to go to still other tribes, 
to tell the people of Christ and his death. 
And as these tribes have melted away, or 
been identified with the American people, 
or with other tribes, this lesiven of Chris- 
tianity has not died out. It is an influence 
that will not die, — but will be for good, not 
only to these Indians, but for the nation. 
Iroquois Indians, located in Illinois. A 



136 THESE FOR THOSE. 

mission was established among them in the 
year 1830. Some success followed. A noted 
conjuror, or prophet, was converted, and 
became eminently useful to the mission. 
Hundreds were hopefully converted, and 
Christian schools were established in conse- 
quence. These are but items in our account 
of indebtedness as a country, to the foreign 
missionary cause. 

The Shawnee Indians, inhabiting Kan- 
sas. Missionary efforts were made among 
these tribes in 1830. Improvements were 
made in their moral and industrial habits. 
Churches and schools were established. The 
mission was adopted by the Methodist church 
south. 

Seminole Indians. A mission was es- 
tablished among them in 1848. This mis- 
sion is an offshoot from the Creek mission. 
The Seminoles are a feeble tribe, harboring 
deep resentments toward the whites. And 
yet, some fruit has come of this mission. 
A native Seminole has been laboring faithfully 



OMAHA, PEORIA AND OREGON. 137 

among this people for years. Good influ- 
ences never perish. 

Omaha Indians, in Nebraska. These peo- 
ple are associated with the Ottoes, and are 
about equal to them in point of numbers. 
A mission was established here about the 
year 1846, in the vicinity of Council Bluff, 
on the Missouri Eiver. A school for chil- 
dren was commenced. The privilege was 
extended to the Pawnees, Puncus, and 
others. Missionary premises were com- 
pleted. Something was done to elevate 
and save these tribes. That little will never 
cease to be felt for good. So we may con- 
fidently hope. 

Peoria Indians. A mission was estab- 
lished here in 1833. Something was done 
in the way of civilization. A church was 
organized, a school was opened, and a 
leaven of Christian influence was diffused 
among the people. The kingdom of heaven 
is likened unto a little leaven. 

Oregon Indians. A mission was estab- 



138 THESE FOR THOSE. 

lished here in 1836. The Flat Heads, a 
tribe of Indians in the valley of the 
Columbia, having gotten some knowledge of 
the true God from the white people, sent 
men over the mountains to Missouri, to 
learn more about the white man's God. 
This fact had a tendency to awaken interest 
in behalf of these Indians among the 
churches, and led to the sending of mission- 
aries to them. The Board entered this field 
in 1836. Their attention was directed to 
the Keyusus, Nez-perces and Flat Heads. 
The missionaries were well received at first. 
They observed a special eagerness in the 
natives to learn the arts of civilized life. 
They were interested to gain a knowledge 
of the Christian religion. The mission for a 
time was attended with success ; but it had 
to encounter the jealousies of the Eoman 
Catholics. Dr. Whitman and wife, with 
twelve other persons, were murdered. 

We shall have occasion to refer to this 
mission again, as it stands connected with 



DIFFICULT PROBLEM SOLVED. 139 

one of the greatest events in our national 
history, — as illustrating the value of foreign 
missions to our nation. We have attempted 
only a glance at the missionary work as con- 
nected with the aborigines of our country. 
This work has been a blessing to the Indians 
not only, but to the nation also. It is an 
influence that cannot be definitely measured ; 
it cannot be estimated in dollars and cents. 
It is a work that has been done in the inter- 
ests of Christianity as a primary motive, but 
it has told on the national prosperity none 
the less. It has helped to solve one of the 
most difficult questions that has ever come 
before the American people, namely, what 
shall we do with the Indian? How shall 
we manage him? How shall we treat him, 
and make him one of us? The sword 
has been tried, but in vain. Negotia- 
tions have been attempted in the form of 
treaties, but these have proved treacherous 
things to both parties, — unjust and decep- 
tive to the Indians, unprofitable and expen- 
sive to ourselves. 



140 THESE FOE THOSE. 

We have gone among them with the treaty 
of Christianity, the gospel of reconciliation. 
The good tidings of salvation have been 
published in those forests. These Indians 
have been thus recognized as human beings, 
needing the great salvation in common with 
ourselves. We have given them schools, 
that have been made available to them, as 
government schools have not. We have 
taught them agriculture and the arts. The 
work has been carried forward upon an 
extensive scale. Millions of dollars proba- 
bly have been used in the work. Perhaps a 
thousand laborers in all have been employed 
by different Mission Boards. Several thou- 
sands have been hopefully converted to 
Christianity as a consequence, and scores of 
thousands have been brought under the 
influence of Christian civilization. Has 
this all been for nothing to us as a nation? 
The value of this work has need to be 
recognized as a power in the land. The 
work has been done in the interests of the 



WHAT WE HAVE DONE. 141 

nation scarcely less than in those of religion. 
It has been a help to us in the most diffi- 
cult work we have ever had to do as a 
people, — that of subordinating and civilizing 
those wayward savages, and in fitting them 
ultimately for Christian citizenship. The 
negro problem has been solved; it was 
solved by the sword. The Indian problem 
is yet to be solved. It is to be done by the 
Bible and its influences, — the sword of the 
Spirit! The gospel alone leads to civili- 
zation. Says one of the greatest men of 
the age : K The gospel is the great civillzer 
of nations ; commerce is the great corrupter 
of the nations." 



CHAPTER X. 

THE OREGON MISSION : ITS GRAND RESULTS 
UPON THE NATION. 

Mr. Eells' Testimony — That op Gov. Evans 
and Major Alvord — Connection of this Mis- 
sion with the Colonization of the far West 
— Dr. Whitman's Movements — Subsequent Re- 
sults on the Nation. 



HAVE glanced at the results of the 
Oregon missions, and its tragical 
close, in a previous chapter. But the 
leaven of Christianity was cast among those 
men of the forest, and was not to be lost. 
Twenty years afterward, the Rev. Mr. 
Eells, once a missionary among those In- 
dians, now a minister and teacher in Washing- 
ton Territory, writes : " There were some 
seventy white persons, dependent chiefly, 
if not entirely, upon the station for their 




TESTIMONY OF REV. MR. EELLS. 143 

supplies, at the time of the terrible massacre 
in 1847. What would have become of those 
white men at that time, if it had not been 
for that missionary station among the In- 
dians?" 

He says, too: "The more important 
results of missionary labor have at length 
been recognized. Christian white men have 
ingenuously acknowledged that they have 
been reproved by the deportment of these 
Indians. And those who had been pre- 
viously disinclined to favor efforts for the 
moral improvement of the aborigines, have 
frankly conceded the salutary effects of such 
efforts. The difference between those who 
have continuously received instruction from 
Protestant missionaries, and those who have 
not, is known and read of all men." 

The Indian Agent for 1861 says : "Those 
Indians are the best Indians I ever knew. I 
wish the missionaries would go back and 
resume labor among them." He referred to 
those where the missionaries had once la- 
bored, in Oregon. 



144 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Mr. Eells writes : " Some fifteen or twenty 
of those Indians spent some time in Walla 
Walla. A larger proportion of them could 
be collected on the Sabbath for worship, than 
of the citizens of the place. We sang in 
their tongue the words I had arranged for 
them years ago. Their conduct seems less 
objectionable than that of the superior race." 

Gov. Evans, of Washington Territory, 
says : w The teaching of those early mission- 
aries has not been lost. They have had 
their effect in moulding the character of the 
subsequent settlements, and have had much 
to do in modifying the history of the aborig- 
ines." I quote again from Mr. Eells, who 
says : " We are indebted to the early mis- 
sions in Oregon and Washington, for laying 
the foundation of civilization there. In this 
regard an honorable record will pass on to 
future generations." 

Major Alvord, of the U. S. Army, says : 
"The Nez-perces declined to join the war 
against the whites, in 1847, and have con- 
stantly refused to do so." 



OTHER TESTIMONY. 145 

Another has said of them, that a band 
of some hundreds assemble every morning 
and evening for prayer, and on the Sabbath 
day for worship. Others have confirmed 
this statement. So, years after the mission 
was nominally abandoned, its good influence 
was felt among that remarkable people. 

But the fact, more remarkable than any 
thing recorded in connection with this 
mission, is that it became the hinge on which 
the civilization of those far Western States 
turned. The mission to the Oregon Indians 
was the occasion of this great event in 
American history. It was the providential 
cause of it. So the men best qualified to 
judge in the case, have uniformly declared. 
All that slope of our continent west of the 
mountains, was saved to the American Union 
by means of American missions, directly or 
indirectly. All that portion of the far 
West that is drained by the Columbia River, 
though ours by right both of discovery and 
of purchase, was occupied by fur com- 
10 



146 THESE FOR THOSE. 

parries, holding British charters ; also by 
various Indian tribes. It was so when mis- 
sionaries went to that distant country. 

I have already referred to the fact that one 
of these tribes, having gotten some knowl- 
edge of the true God from the white people, 
sent men over the mountains, some two thou- 
sand miles, to Missouri, to learn more about 
the white man's God. This led to the send- 
ing of missionaries to them. Christians 
were constrained to feel that if these red 
men of the forest had such a desire to get a 
knowledge of the true God, and learn the 
way to be saved, it was their duty to send 
the gospel to them. 

Dr. Whitman, a missionary physician un- 
der the American Board, was a man of great 
penetration of mind, intrepidity of charac- 
ter, and energy of purpose. Obstacles 
seemed only to inspire his courage. The ex- 
tent of his practice as a physician among the 
fur-traders and trappers, as well as among 
the Indians, gave him a large acquaintance 



DB. WHITMAN. 147 

with affairs connected with that country. 
He became satisfied that these foreign Com- 
panies were endeavoring to get possession of 
that territory. They invited emigration by 
those only who were favorable to British 
interests, and to the Roman Catholic faith. 
They discouraged emigration by those un- 
friendly to these interests. Dr. Whitman 
clearly foresaw that this whole country 
would soon be in possession of the British 
government, and the people would be under 
the power of Rome, unless prompt measures 
were taken. Every thing pointed to this 
result. He formed a purpose to lead an 
American Colony to those parts. He was 
unshaken in his purpose. He laid his case 
before the mission. They hesitated, — but 
finally gave their consent that he visit the 
East, to carry out his purpose to colonize 
the Columbia valley. 

Dr. Whitman was no visionary; he was 
not a man of schemes and experiments. He 
was a faithful missionary, and did the work 



148 THESE FOR THOSE. 

well to which he had been appointed. But 
he was a Christian patriot also, and loved 
his nation. He could not bear to see that 
beautiful valley of the far West — which 
was ours by every right, but now occupied 
by these fur-traders only by our sufferance 
and magnanimity — thus pass forever out 
of our hands into foreign and unfriendly 
control. 

"Our right to the Northwest Coast, in- 
cluding all the territory drained by the 
Columbia River, was based in law upon the 
purchase of all French claims in 1803-4, 
and of all Spanish claims in 1819, besides 
the clearer title of discovery by Capt. Gray, 
Ship Columbia, of Boston ; and confirmed 
in 1792. From this fact the Indians there 
have ever since called all Americans ' Bos- 
tons.' 

"But our possession and settlement of 
that region was long disputed, and made a 
nullity by the action of a foreign interfer- 
ence. The great Northwest Fur Company, 



OUR CLAIMS WEST. 149 

having its headquarters at Montreal, and its 
forts along the lakes, through the interior 
and over the mountains, at the beginning of 
this century, found a rival in the honorable 
Hudson Bay Company, whose forts ranged 
across the continent. The latter soon dis- 
placed the former, and enlisted their factors, 
chief traders, and employees in its service. 
Mr. Astor's fur-trading posts were broken 
up by this new aspiring and energetic Com- 
pany, and his far-famed Astoria was at 
length occupied by them, receiving the new 
name of 'Fort George.' The Hudson Bay 
Company held sway over Indians and trap- 
pers and hunters, and by means of their 
palisade forts- and rude bastions, maintained 
their authority, and gave law practically to 
all comers and goers. As early as 1828 
they took possession of the Falls of the 
Willamette, with a view, as Sir George 
Simpson, their Governor-General, says, to 
the establishment of a British colony of their 
retired servants in the valley above." l 

1 President Atkinson, Oregon College. 



150 THESE FOB THOSE. 

Several colonies of this kind were planted 
at other available points. They had practi- 
cal possession of the whole country in 
1832. 

Dr. Whitman lost no time in getting 
ready for the journey. He crossed the 
Rocky Mountains in midwinter, and ar- 
rived in Missouri, faint and frost-bitten, 
where he soon found sufficient numbers to 
go to that country, if they could but get 
there in wagons and with their families. 
He hastened on to Washington, saw Mr. 
Webster, Secretary of State, and made 
known to him his purpose, to lead a colony 
over the mountains, and get practical posses- 
sion of Oregon. Mr. Webster informed 
him that he was a little too late in the under- 
taking; that negotiations were already in 
process to exchange that country for fishing- 
grounds, owned by England, on our coast; 
that he had been assured by those well ac- 
quainted with the facts, that "the country 
west was of no value to us, as emigrants 



WHITMAN'S EFFORTS. 151 

could not cross the mountains with their 
wagons and families. But such information 
all came from unfriendly sources. This was 
a part of the plot to get possession of that 
territory in the interests of Great Britain 
and Rome. 

These wrong negotiations at Washington 
were brought to a stand. Dr. Whitman 
told Mr. Webster that he was going to 
lead a colony to that country in the spring 
himself, and that they would cross the 
mountains and deserts in wagons ! Presi- 
dent Tyler and his Secretary assured Dr. 
Whitman that if he would do this, they 
would not sell the territory, — or would stop 
negotiations till the experiment was tried. 
The grand experiment was made. Dr. 
Whitman led his Colony of a thousand souls 
to the valley of the Columbia that season, 
in safety and in wagons. 

Dr. Whitman regarded his visit to 
Washington, and his success in conducting 
the emigrants across the mountains, — a dis- 



152 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tance of two thousand miles, — as settling 
the destiny of Oregon. He says in a letter : 
"It may be easily seen what would have be- 
come of American interests in this country, 
had this emigration been disastrous." 

A word now, per contra, from the w (7o- 
lonial Magazine" in the foreign interests : 
"By a strange and unpardonable oversight 
of the local officers, missionaries from the 
United States were allowed to take religious 
charge of the population, and these artful 
men lost no time in introducing sufh a 
number of their countrymen, as reduced 
the influence of the British settlers to com- 
plete insignificance." 

"It was not simply an American ques- 
tion," says Secretary Treat ; "it was, at the 
same time, a Protestant question that 
agitated the mind of Dr. Whitman. He was 
fully alive to the efforts which the Roman 
Catholics were making to gain the mastery 
on the Pacific coast ; and he was firmly per- 



FOREIGN VIEWS. 153 

suaded that they were working in the inter- 
ests of the Hudson Bay Company, with a 
view to this very end. The danger from 
this quarter made a profound impression 
upon his mind." 

A provisional government was soon 
formed. Our country's flag waved in those 
west winds, and British powder there perished. 
American interests were thenceforth in the 
ascendant. G. Abernethy, Esq., was elected 
Governor for four successive years, 1844-48: 

The government at Washington had now a 
new interest on the Pacific' coast, and sent 
out explorers under Fremont. The worth 
and wealth of this great slope began to be 
known to the world. As a consequence of 
our occupancy of Oregon, our interest in all 
that portion of the American Continent west 
was increased. A desire was awakened to get 
possession of California. And in our set- 
tlement with Mexico at the close of the war, 
the government purchased this conquered 
province of California, which put the entire 



154 THESE FOR THOSE. 

width of the continent west into onr posses- 
sion. This would not have been done if 
Dr. Whitman had failed ! Says Dr. Atkin- 
son : "Having then become involved in the 
Mexican war, Gen. Fremont was sent out 
in 1847, with the plan to co-operate with our 
Commodore and seize California, which was 
done. In the settlement with Mexico, our 
Government purchased this province. The 
connection of events is such as to show that 
our securing the actual possession of Oregon 
awakened public interest, and led to the gen- 
eral survey and final conquest and purchase 
of California, — though sectional and spo- 
radic efforts had previously been made to 
secure this Province. The securing of 
Oregon preceded that of California, some- 
what as cause precedes effect. The one 
hinged upon the other." 

Rev. Mr. Eells expresses substantially the 
same opinion. 

And what has come of all this? The 
richest section of our country, the gateway 



THE GRAND RESULT. 155 

of the world westward, of oceans and con- 
tinents, of wealth and commerce, has been 
opened to us and possessed by the nation. 
Consequently our country is to become the 
carrying-place or thoroughfare of the world, 
by means of steamships and railways. We 
now stand midway between continents and 
seas, where all ships move, great wealths are 
garnered, and various civilizations and bar- 
barisms are contrasted. 

And in a money point of view, says Presi- 
dent Atkinson : " The nation has been saved 
by the gold from the miners as truly as by 
the courage of the soldiers. He who pro- 
vided the one, raised up the other. We see 
the wisdom of the Divine plan for our 
national salvation. So it is ; this western 
world, saved to us by the influence of mis- 
sions, is become the store-house of our 
national wealth, to a very large extent. We 
fall back on those rich mines or banks of 
wealth, to help pay our nation's debt, and to 
give us the lead of commerce. We turn to 



156 THESE FOR THOSE. 

those golden mountains to assure our credit, 
for there is enough there to redeem all our 
bonds and notes." 

I do not say that God would not have 
used other means to reach these grand 
results. That is not the point in question. 
What means has he used in the crisis ? This 
is the question for the historian. It was a 
humble instrumentality, a poor society or 
Board of Missions, that had no great name 
in the world then; but God chooses the 
foolish things of the world to confpund the 
wise, and things that are not to bring to 
nought the things that are. 

Pres. Tyler told Dr. Whitman that he 
would believe him since he was a missionary, 
instead of the fur-traders and British officials 
that were crowding around his capitol. Did 
that President ever do a better thing for the 
country than thus to encourage Dr. Whit- 
man to proceed with his colony, and make 
the valley of the Columbia both Christian 
and American? We are blind if we do not, 



GOD'S PROVIDENCE. 157 

see the thread of Divine Providence here. 
It is of golden texture, running along the 
pathway of those whose feet were beautiful 
upon the mountains, for they were the feet 
of them that brought good tidings of great 
joy to the men that dwelt in those distant 
wastes of sin. 

K Men did not see whither the hand of God 
was leading us, till in the southern sky the 
storm-clouds condensed into blacker shades, 
and burst upon our nation in the thunder of 
civil war. Then we began to see that fleets 
and armaments, munitions and fortresses, 
with the cost of armies, — must be met by 
untold drafts upon the nation's exchequer. 
We learned that the nation's credit must 
be used on the broadest scale, and we knew 
that it must be sustained at home and 

abroad God seemed to say to 

Americans, I have saved this great treasure 
for you. I have held it from the eyes of 
men for you to possess." 1 

1 Pres. Atkinson. 



158 THESE FOR THOSE. 

We thus perceive in part the debt we 
owe to missions as a nation, as well as a 
race. Other things might be added to the 
inventory of our indebtedness to foreign 
missions. But I prefer to confine the dis- 
cussion under this head to the matters thus 
briefly set forth. Indeed, take away what 
missions have done for the nation in the far 
West, and we should be poor, comparatively. 
We should be flanked without doubt by a 
foreign power and a foreign religion in all 
the width of our continent west. 

What else has done these States a greater 
service, if we except the gospel directly 
preached? Is it the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence ? Could we have carried out that 
declaration in our times, without the help 
which has come to us from that rich coast? 
Is it the late war? Could we have car- 
ried on the war but for that gold? Is it 
the emancipation act which the war put 
through ? But could we have put any thing 
through on that line, without the world of 



SUMMARY. 159 

wealth opened to us by that pioneer band, 
taken by our brave missionary over those 
fearful mountains, to colonize and control 
that vast country? 



TOPIC III. 

OUE INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS, 
AS A GOVEKNMENT. 



CHAPTER XI. 

MISSIONARY HELP TO OUR FOREIGN AMBAS- 
SADORS. 

Preliminary Distinctions — The Help Missionaries 
have rendered inchlna«-ln turkey — at the 
Hawaiian Islands. 




HAVE considered the influence of 
missions upon the affairs of our na- 
tion, and principally with respect to 
the management of the Indian tribes. I 
shall now speak of their usefulness to the 
Government as such. 

We distinguish between a nation and its 
government. The one is generic, the other 
specific. There may be revolution in the 
government, while the integrity and general 
characteristics of the nation continue the 



164 THESE FOR THOSE. 

same. A poor nation may have a good gov- 
ernment, and a good nation may, for a time, 
have a bad government ; yet there is an inti- 
mate relation between a nation and its form 
of government. The one will influence the 
other for good or evil. Whatever helps the 
nation as such, tends to strengthen the gov- 
ernment ; and whatever strengthens the 
government, will have a healthful influence 
ultimately upon the nation and its institu- 
tions. 

Much that was said of the effect of for- 
eign missions, under the previous Topic, 
upon the nation, is pertinent to the present 
Topic also. The help our country has 
received from missions in the management 
of the Indian department, has been also a 
help to the government in that most difficult 
business. Any influence that tends to civil- 
ize the aborigines of the country, and pre- 
pare them for citizenship, is a help in the 
administration of the general government. 

In considering the influence of missions 



AID TO GOVERNMENT. 165 

upon the government, in its action abroad in 
foreign countries, we must take into view the 
inconvenience of carrying on business inter- 
course with nations, without any knowledge 
of their language or government, — of the 
character, traditions and prejudices of the 
people. It is difficult to estimate the obsta- 
cles in the way of diplomatic intercourse 
under such circumstances. 

Our government has commercial relations 
with the empire of China. These began some 
thirty years ago, have now grown into a diplo- 
matic ministry, and are regarded as of great 
value to the government, in a variety of 
aspects. These relations grew out of the 
foreign missionary work there, or the intro- 
duction of Christianity and the western civil- 
ization into the empire. The advantages of 
our commercial intercourse with that people, 
and of our civil connection with them, are to 
be put to the credit of foreign missions. How 
could this government have conducted its bus- 
iness at that court, without the presence of 



166 THESE FOR THOSE. 

missionaries upon the ground? When Mr. 
Cushing was sent out to China in the frigate 
Brandy wine, to negotiate our first treaty with 
that government, the then Secretary of State, 
I have been assured, addressed a letter to 
our Prudential Committee, asking permission 
to employ any of our missionaries residing 
in that country, to aid the Commissioner in 
negotiating a treaty with the government. 
Permission was granted; and without such 
aid at that period, I have been informed by 
an ex-government officer, "probably no satis- 
factory treaty could have been made. For 
we had no other resources of which we could 
avail ourselves, such as familiarity with the 
Chinese customs, literature, modes of thought, 
etc." 

Mr. Cushing, the first Commissioner to 
that Court, is a finished scholar, and a most 
able diplomatic officer. But how could he 
have accomplished his business at that court, 
if it had not been for the aid of the mission- 
aries there? He was ignorant of the Ian- 



MR CUSHING. 167 

guage, — one of the most difficult on earth to 
master. He was ignorant, in large measure, 
of the government, and the semi-civilization 
that rules there, — of the manners and cus- 
toms and ideas of the people, where almost 
everv thing is in strange, and the reverse of 
things on this side of the globe. The very 
heads of the people are really not more 
directly opposite to ours, as they walk over 
the earth, than is almost every thing else 
there. So Mr. Gushing wisely took one of 
our missionary physicians to his aid as Sec- 
retary of Legation, — Hon. Peter Parker, 
now of Washington City, D. C. 

Mr. Parker was not a diplomatist at that 
time ; he was only a humble and successful 
missionary laborer. But he had capabilities 
in other directions, of which Mr. Gushing 
was ready to avail himself. Mr. Parker had 
gotten the language, — a work of years. He 
had earned the confidence of the people by 
his Christian deportment and charity. He 
had large skill in the healing art. He was 



168 THESE FOR THOSE. 

known at the Court ; had learned the char- 
acter of the Chinese government and institu- 
tions, together with the striking peculiarities 
of the Chinese mind. He was acquainted, 
too, with the American government and 
institutions. He was, therefore, the right 
man for our Commissioner to associate 
with himself in his work. He had need of 
such a helper. He could not have gone on 
in his work without some such one to be 
eyes and ears and tongue for him in his 
official duties. Nor is this all ; — he needed 
the counsel of those early missionaries, 
their collected wisdom and experience, to aid 
him in his ministerial business. 

Diplomatic relations have continued with 
China since. They have grown into a 
permanent Civil Ministry. Mr. Parker was 
afterwards himself appointed Commissioner 
at that Court. The government thought it 
best to avail itself of the experience and 
tried skill of one of the missionaries of the 
American Board. I cannot speak particu- 



BURLING AME'b SECRETARY OF LEGATION. 169 

larly of the usefulness of Mr. Parker's 
administration in China. I certainly never 
heard it called in question. Assuming the 
affirmative, it goes to show the good service 
of foreign missions to our government in 
China. 

The Secretary of Legation under the late 
Commissioner Burlingame was an American 
missionary. He was qualified for the posi- 
tion. And Mr. Burlingame was probably 
intrusted with his comprehensive and respon- 
sible mission to the civilized nations by 
reason of an indirect influence of American 
missionaries in China. The government had 
learned to trust Americans, by having so 
good a specimen or representation of them 
in that field. I do not know indeed that 
any direct personal influence was used on 
their part with the Court to secure the ap- 
pointment of Mr. Burlingame. I trust there 
was none. I only say, it is a pleasant and 
probable conjecture that the influence the 
missionaries had gained in China, even if 



170 " THESE FOB THOSE. 

none was exerted on the Court directly, 
led to the appointment of Mr. Burlingame ; 
whose official efforts had proved so satisfac- 
tory and honorable to our government and 
the other civilized governments. 

Dr. Morrison, an early English missionary 
to China, was taken into the suite of Lord 
Amherst, and was Chinese interpreter to 
the British Commission at Canton. In this 
office he was succeeded by Dr. Gutzlaff. 
These missionaries were deemed essential 
to the success of the Commission. They 
understood the language, modes of thought, 
and the customs of the people, and had 
gained an influence in the empire. 

Morrison's English and Chinese Diction- 
ary, giving a key to that mysterious lan- 
guage, has been a great help to governments 
as well as to scholars. It has had the highest 
praise of oriental critics, such as Klaproth, 
Montucci, Huttmann, Kemusat, and others. 
The work has been superseded by others 
since, as the progress of missionary study 



COMMERCIAL RELATIONS. 171 

in that empire has furnished more accurate 
and abundant materials for such a work. 
But its value in the literary and commercial 
world, it is not easy to estimate. 

In vain were all the attempts of the 
colonial government in Africa to establish 
commercial intercourse with the Kaffir tribes 
until the Christian missionary had gained a 
footing among them. 

Howitt remarks that the British Govern- 
ment owes whatever success it has had in 
New Zealand in diplomatic and commercial 
relations entirely to the favorable predis- 
position created in their behalf by missionary 
influence. 

Wherever commerce and government 
have taken the initiative in the way of gain- 
ing access to barbarous nations, the effort 
has usually failed. Policy, strategy or 
violence has too often been the recourse 
or instrument employed. But when the 
ground has been anticipated by Protestant 
missionaries, and the confidence of the 



172 THESE FOR THOSE. 

people gained . by kind Christian treatment, 
the movements of government in the inter- 
ests of commerce and civil intercourse have 
usually been successful. 

All must admit that in the changed cir- 
cumstances of the case, our present local 
position to China, Japan, and the east gen- 
erally (or west, we can now say), have 
rendered our commercial and diplomatic 
relations to that part of the world of the 
greatest importance to the nation and the 
government. 

I pass by India, with which, in a civil and 
commercial point of view, we have had less 
to do than with the more distant empires ; I 
shall not speak particularly of Africa now, in 
these respects, further than to say, that our 
late Consul at Zanzibar, Hon. E. P. Waters, 
of Beverly, Mass., assures me that "the aid 
from this source has been most important." 

I reserve some facts from Africa for 
the next Topic, where they will do better 
service to the subject than under this. 



JUDGE GODDARD'S VIEWS. 173 

I call attention now to our civil intercourse 
with the Empire of Turkey, as affected by 
foreign missions. 

Hon. C. W. Goddard, Judge of the Supe- 
rior Court, Portland, Maine, and late Consul 
General at Constantinople, says: "Your 
missionaries in Turkey have added to the 
respect with which our nation is regarded in 
that country; — for every American abroad, 
especially every American permanently re- 
siding abroad, contributes his quota towards 
the opinion entertained of our people by the 
government and people among whom they 
reside. 

"As an officer of the U. S. Government 
during the critical period of the Eebellion 
(1861-5), I was often ashamed of my 
countrymen abroad, because some of them, 
and public officers too, took no pains to con- 
ceal that they were themselves ashamed of 
their country, and would evidently have been 
only too willing to deny their country, and 
pass for European monarchists, if they had 



174 THESE FOR THOSE. 

not feared that, like Peter, their speech would 
bewray them. I am happy to bear testimony 
that such were not our missionaries ! As 
Saint Paul boasted that he was a * Pharisee of 
the Pharisees/ so they were all Americans of 
Americans. By this, also, they materially 
strengthened our Government at a very weak 
point." 

He adds: "If there had never been mis- 
sionaries in Turkey, it would not have been 
so easy for our Government to manage its 
affairs in that Empire, as it now is." 

I call attention to the Hawaiian Islands. 
Their civilization and government are the 
outgrowth of American missions. The prac- 
tical management of both has been very 
much in the hands of missionaries from the 
first. The structure of the government is 
substantially American; the feudal or aris- 
tocratic element — abounding in European 
monarchies — scarcely appearing here at all. 

We have not always been fortunate in the 
character of the Commissioners sent to the 



DR. KING. lib 

Hawaiian Islands by the government. Iu 
one or two instances their character and 
* influence could scarcely have been worse. 
But the safety of our government and of its 
interests there, has been very much owing 
to the sharp watch and determined energy 
of the missionaries on the ground. Thus 
those bad men had a short career, and the 
honor and commercial interests of our na- 
tion have been protected. 

Honest civilians that go there from our 
government depend largely upon the knowl- 
edge and influence of the missionaries. It 
is with them as it is with our civil offi- 
cers at the Court of the Sultan, and at the 
Court of China ; they have need of the wis- 
dom and experience of the veteran mission- 
aries on the spot. 

Dr. Jonas King, more than forty years a 
missionary in Greece, added to his useful- 
ness as the representative of our Christianity 
there, by representing the American Gov- 
ernment, also, as its Consul at Athens, 



176 THESE FOR THOSE. 

The value of our relations in the Pacific, 
as of those beyond upon the continent, is 
greatly increased by the diminished distance 
between us and them now, and by the 
changed course of commerce and trade 
between the two continents. „ 

If Christ's kingdom has gone in advance 
of these movements, and been the cause of 
them; if his ministers have helped those 
j of the civil government in bringing about 
the present condition of things among the 
nations, let us have the honesty to record it ; 
not indeed for the sake of giving glory to 
man, or to princes, but to God ! 



CHAPTER Xn. 

INFLUENCE OF MISSIONS ON REPUBLICAN 
INSTITUTIONS. 

The Gospel true to itself everywhere — The 
Reciprocity of Influence universal — The 
Civil Revolution in Turkey — The Hazelwood 
Republic — The Islands of the Pacific — These 
Results have come of Missions — Their Help in 

THE LATE WAR — An ILLUSTRATION IN CEYLON — 

Their Influence on our Credit abroad. 




HE influence of foreign missions has 
been favorable to republican institu- 
tions everywhere. And though a re- 
publican form of government may not have 
followed in the pathway of missions directly, 
yet the spirit and genius of republicanism, as 

diffused over the world through them, have 
12 



178 THESE FOR THOSE. 

a strengthening influence upon our free 
institutions at home. Foreign missions tend 
to reproduce our home institutions of free- 
dom and equality wherever they have been 
planted. Free institutions are sure to 
follow, soon or late, in the pathway af a 
pure gospel. Just government is an out- 
growth of Protestant Christianity. The 
civilizations that spring from Protestant 
missions take their type from the gospgel, 
which often has a more positive influence in 
shaping the institutions that follow as a 
consequence of missionary effort, than 
those in nominally Christian lands. A 
purer type of civil and social institutions 
always follows from the spirit of missions, 
where a genuine gospel has been introduced, 
than is found often in older Christian com- 
munities. The gospel planted on missionary 
ground is of a better type and growth ordi- 
narily, than is found in other communities. 
It has not yet been neutralized by formality — 
conformity to the world. It has not been 



PROTESTANT INFLUENCES. 179 

stiffened by long contact with coldness, 
custom and conventional rules. It has 
not been corrupted by the hypocrisy, 
perhaps gross immorality, of its professed 
friends. We naturally expect that causes 
and effects will correspond ; that a pure 
gospel will lead to simplicity of life, and 
affect the institutions of society and the 
nation. 

The gospel carries with it the elements of 
social and civil redemption, as well as of 
personal and spiritual redemption. Wher- 
ever we plant Christian missions, whether 
in Athens or in India, China or Africa, we 
plant the germs of republican institutions. 
Salvation secured, civil freedom naturally 
follows. The spirit of it is found, though 
the exercise and enjoyment of it may be 
hindered. The spirit precedes the form. 

The influence mutually exerted by similar 
institutions is inevitable. It is something for 
a nation to have the sympathy of mankind. 
It strengthens a government to have the 



180 THESE FOR THOSE. 

public sentiment of the world in its favor, 
although that public sentiment have no direct 
channel of expression. The spirit of liberty 
that is springing up in China, and still more 
positively and extensively in India, Turkey, 
and the Islands of the Sea, is not lost upon 
our own government. It is a sort of rec- 
ognition of its excellence. It is in the form 
of a public or national indorsement. It is a 
half-suppressed sympathy or sentiment in our 
behalf. It is an invisible hand of fellowship, 
reached out to us across the world. 

A thing seldom stands of itself and by its 
own strength. It has need to be supported 
by other things. This is a well-nigh univer- 
sal law. The sun could not stand steadily 
in his orbit if it were not associated with 
other suns, or the circling orbits of the stars. 
Our earth, too, in its course about the sun, 
has need to join hands with the planets or 
other earths, held in their order, in turn, by 
surrounding secondaries. These all hold 
their place and their permanency by mutual 



PRINCIPLES STATED. 181 

attraction in the great system of things. 
There is a law of interdependence running 
through the great system of the universe. 
It is so with the forces of nature ; it is so 
with the institutions of society. Our civil 
order has need thus to be strengthened. 
Our institutions are by no means indepen- 
dent of the influences and sympathy that 
come to us from other lands, and from the 
ends of the earth. 

A reflex influence for good has come to us 
from the remarkable change of things in 
Turkey. Americans have accomplished a 
far greater work for Turkey than will ever 
be acknowledged or known. The introduc- 
tion into that Empire of the Protestant 
element or principle provoked persecution. 
Persecution compelled the representatives of 
the free governments on the ground, as also 
the Turkish government itself, to take up 
the question, and to come to some under- 
standing about it. The ball of religious dis- 
cussion was thus providentially set forward 



182 THESE FOR THOSE. 

to a resistless rolling. The missionaries 
boldly put in the plea for freedom of con- 
science as an inalienable right established 
by God himself, and written by him upon the 
human soul. It was maintained by irresis- 
tible reasoning, that such freedom is necessi- 
tated by the very nature of human society 
and of the soul itself. 

The more the question was examined, and 
the fiercer the persecution raged, so much 
the more evident it became that for Turkey 
at least, with its many races, languages and 
religions, liberty is the only solution possible. 
The decisions of the Koran had to bend 
before this necessity. "The sword of Islam 
must remain sheathed even when the apos- 
tate Moslem passes over from the mosque 
to the church." A mighty revolution had 
thus been initiated in Tuikey, which 
is still marching on ; and it is easier 
to stay the sun in his course in heaven, 
than to arrest it. The imperial signa- 
ture has been given to a Magna Charta 



REACTION IN TURKEY. 183 

of religious liberty in those two state doc- 
uments, — the Hatti Sheriff and the Hatti 
Humayon, the one guaranteeing to the 
Christian the rights of conscience, the oth- 
er, to the Turk the same rights, as touch- 
ing religious liberty. The faith of those 
concessions is now guarded by the Christian 
governments of the world. The Sultan can 
not recall his act, nor retrace the step he 
has taken. Henceforth liberty of conscience 
is secured to scores of millions in the 
Turkish Empire,^ — embodying a larger num- 
ber of distinct nationalities, speaking as 
many different languages, than any other 
Empire on the globe. 

It must be remembered that this change 
in favor of civil liberty the world over, 
came about in consequence of the presence 
and influence of American missionaries in 
that empire. Their work brought on the 
crisis and the persecution ; the high position 
and noble stand they took in the presence 
of Ambassadors from Christian governments 



184 THESE FOR THOSE. 

secured the grand result, — liberty of con- 
science to the people of that empire. 

And is this nothing to free institutions 
elsewhere? The influence of those leaps 
toward liberty of conscience and personal 
freedom, is felt throughout the civilized 
world ! It adds to the strength and mo- 
mentum of free principles. It is a recog- 
nition of the truth of the Declaration of 
Independence upon which our own good gov- 
ernment is based, which is indeed the only 
government individually concerned in those 
vast transactions, that stands squarely and 
consistently upon those principles. This, 
then, is a strengthening of our own free 
institutions. It is like the art that elevates 
noiselessly, without the notice or conscious- 
ness of those moved. 

I name this fact, not yet well enough 
known, as a confirmation of the principle 
already stated, that the spirit of free institu- 
tions as diffused over the earth, has a useful 
influence upon our institutions here at home. 



RECIPROCAL INFLUENCE. 185 

Freedom of thought and action in Turkey, 
recognized and established as a popular right 
by a government itself despotic, has a 
tendency to strengthen and perpetuate the 
same principle and privilege here in America 
and everywhere else. 

During the history of our mission work 
among the Dakotas, the plan was formed of 
organizing and concentrating the civilized 
elements for the purpose of mutual protection 
and a more rapid improvement. This plan, 
originated by the Indians, was carried into 
effect. The Community was called " The 
Hazelwood Republic" All that joined this 
new Commonwealth were to adopt civilized 
habits, live in houses, cultivate the land, and 
wear the dress of white people. They had a 
President, a Secretary, and three Judges to 
arbitrate in all matters of dispute and diffi- 
culty. In their Constitution they professed 
their faith in the one true God, as opposed to 
the many gods of the Dakotas. They cov- 
enanted to regulate their lives by the Bible. 



186 THESE FOR THOSE. 

They agreed to encourage education, to sup- 
port schools, and labor for the elevation of 
the people. They pledged themselves to be 
obedient to the laws of the United States, 
and asked the agent of the government to 
recognize them as a civil community. 

Here, then, was at least a star in the civil 
firmament, that rose as a result of mis- 
sions, to enter into the system or sympathy 
of the general government. Things took a 
more specific form in this case than in most 
other cases. And yet the spirit of these 
men that formed this Indian Republic, is the 
spirit that foreign missions have awakened 
the world over. It may not have organized 
in form as here, yet the fearless spirit of 
it exists wherever a pure gospel has been 
planted, and the power of it has been felt. 

The government of many of the Indian 
tribes is modeled very considerably after 
our own government. I would cite the 
Cherokee government as an illustration. 
Two things can be said of it; it is an 



OUR GOVERNMENT IMITATED. 187 

exceedingly good imitation, in all its depart- 
ments, of our government; — and it has 
served to give the Indians a sort of appren- 
ticeship for citizenship in our government. 

The same thing is true, in a measure, with 
the Choctaw people, and not a few of the 
other tribes in the West and Northwest. 
They have imitated our government in very 
important respects, and are therefore in a 
course of preparation to become a part of it 
in the Union. 

It need not be asked what has induced 
these Indians to pattern after our institu- 
tions. No one can doubt that it is the influ- 
ence of the missionary work among them, 
that has given them education, and im- 
pressed upon them the customs, habits and 
ideas of civilization. And more than this 
has that work accomplished. It has put a 
new spirit into these red men of the forest ; 
it has kindled the spirit of civil liberty ; it 
has awakened the spirit of natural justice 
and moral right ; it has given them the con- 



188 THESE FOR THOSE. 

sciousness of a higher and nobler manhood, 
lifting them up from moral degradation, and 
giving them a desire for better institutions, 
for better protection, and for better treat- 
ment I 

This is a fair illustration of the working 
of Protestant Christianity the world over. 
These instances here named are drops in the 
shower of other and more abundant influ- 
ences that help to bless the world. 

The President of the Hazelwood Republic 
was among the most fearless and energetic 
in opposition to the great uprising among 
the Dakotas. Under his championship many 
a white captive was delivered. It was the 
influence of a few mighty spirits among the 
Cherokees, furthest advanced in civilization, 
that held those Indians of the Southwest to 
the Union during the great national rebel- 
lion. They did far better than their white 
neighbors in this respect. Why? They 
had been taught by those who were friends 
to the government. Their principles had 



CHRISTIAN SAFETY. 189 

been established by the gospel as preached 
to them by missionaries. 

Wherever the gospel is carried, a seed of 
Christian civilization is sown. To change 
the figure, a nerve of moral vitality is cre- 
ated, a pulse of civil liberty is awakened, 
that adds to the force and strength of free 
institutions the world over. This is the 
natural effect of a pure gospel. It does not 
gender to bondage, but for freedom. Take 
it away from all association with formality 
and a dead civilization, let it kindle in new 
elements, and under favorable circumstances, 
even though amidst all the disadvantages of 
skepticism and heathenism, and the light 
that follows is sure to be the light of Chris- 
tian liberty. 

I ought not to, leave this matter without 
referring again to the islands of the Pacific 
Ocean. The Friendly Islands, made Chris- 
tian by foreign missionary efforts, are now 
well governed. There is the form of mon- 
archy, with the spirit and enjoyment of 



190 THESE FOR THOSE. 

freedom. The king is himself a preacher of 
the gospel, and as he goes from island to 
island to administer the laws of his realm, 
he preaches the gospel of Christ; and so 
seeks to impress upon his people their obli- 
gation to the higher laws of a better king. 
This change in the civil administration is the 
result of successful missionary labor there. 
The same facts are true of the Feejee 
group. A few years ago they were 
savages and cannibals of the lowest type. 
They were among the most barbarous and 
brutal that inhabited the Pacific Islands. 
One of their chiefs, I am told, is a preacher 
of the gospel ; and he, too, makes the admin- 
istration of the laws of his realm subservient 
to the administration of the laws of God. 
Those Feejee Islands, so recently savage, 
are now Christianized through the influence 
of missionaries. Some five thousand con- 
verts have been numbered there within a few 
years ; and the change in the hearts and 
habits of the people has wrought a corre- 



FRIENDLY AND FEEJEE GROUPS. 191 

sponcling change in the government, and has 
put the spirit of liberty in the place of an 
iron despotism. 

When our missionaries went to the Sand- 
wich Islands, fifty years ago, the government 
was a pure despotism. The king owned the 
land and the people. His word was law. 
He put his subjects to death at his will. 

The gospel was established there ; the 
rulers became interested. The first effect 
was a modification of the old government ; a 
softening of its despotism, and putting more 
of humanity into its administration. The 
ultimate effect has been the formation of a 
new government, that guarantees to the 
people their rights and liberties. Dr. An- 
derson says, in substance, there is no people 
on earth that has a larger measure of lib- 
erty or fuller protection of law in their 
property and persons, than the Hawaiians. 

We may regard the Hawaiian government 
as in sympathy with our American insti- 
tutions. It is our nearest neighbor in the 



192 THESE FOR THOSE. 

west. A few week's sail takes us to the 
capital from our western coast. 

The influence used to affect that gov- 
ernment for evil, and bring it under papal 
control, did not have the sympathy of 
England, nor of the other Protestant 
nations. The spirit of liberty and of 
Protestantism has reasserted itself there, 
and will continue to conform to the Con- 
stitution and charter of the State. This 
late experiment will strengthen those new 
institutions, demonstrate their value, insure 
their permanency, and add to the great com- 
monwealth of liberty. 

It is interesting to note the influence of 
missions in our late war. Though in the 
ends of the, earth, many of them, they were 
a cordon of support and strength to us. 
There is scarcely a missionary station on 
earth, I think, that did not sympathize with 
us in that struggle. There was not, perhaps, 
a people in the whole world that had been 
regenerated By Christian missions, that 



INFLUENCE IN OUR LATE WAR. 193 

were not with us in sympathy during that 
terrible crisis. This sympathy took the 
form of prayer mostly, — the only effective 
form it could take in most cases ; though 
the names of some of our honored mis- 
sionaries, and many of their noble sons, 
are on the list of those who served and 
fell in the war. But generally the mission- 
aries of our own and other Boards, were 
shut out by nationality, distance, or pressure 
of responsibility, from actual service. Mark 
the accounts given by missionaries in those 
days, showing how their people were 
affected by our. struggle and peril. One 
of them told me that, late one •evening, there 
was a rap at his door. He rose and went 
to the veranda, and found there a native 
pastor from the vicinity, and his whole con- 
gregation. He told the missionary that 
they had been spending that evening in 
prayer for America ; and had called to ask a 
favor of him ; namely, that when the news 
should come from America that the war was 

13 



194 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ended and slavery overthrown, lie would let 
them know it at once ; for they resolved that 
evening to have a Jubilee as soon as the 
news came, or time of general Thanksgiving 
and praise to God. 

The missionary remarked to me that that 
had been one of the darkest days in his life. 
It was certainly the darkest period of the 
war. Defeat had followed upon the heels of 
defeat and disaster for a long time. And 
news had just reached India that England 
had recognized the Confederacy as a govern- 
ment; and they were expecting orders to 
act in accordance with this new state of 
things. "But," said he, "that scene at my 
door, the coming of that crowd by night on 
such an errand, the spirit that was manifest 
in them, and the way in which the request 
was worded, gave me new courage. The 
pastor did not say if good news shall come 
thus and thus, we want to know it; but 
when the good news shall come we wish to 
meet and give praise to God ! The Ian- 



THE PRAYER MEETING. 195 

guage was not that of doubt, but of faith, 
that lifted them above the need of ifs, or 
expressions of discouragement or doubt. 
They knew, for God had given them the 
evidence that- night that the event would 
certainly come, and what they wanted was 
to know it at once, that they might all join 
in praise to God for it at once. 

Was this a small matter? It did not seem 
very much to human view. But we must not 
call any thing small that shows God's will, 
•or that takes hold on His strength? The 
mightiest forces of the universe are from the 
secret places of prayer, where are the hid- 
ings of God's power. 

This was in Ceylon, many thousand miles 
off. And these were native Christians, sub- 
jects of the British government, — itself in- 
deed none too friendly toward us at that 
time. But how came they to care for us in 
our trial? The question has been many 
times answered in this volume. Missiona- 
ries had taught them, and God had given 



196 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tliem hearts that inclined them to justice and 
humanity. 

But was there any thing peculiar in the 
sympathy of these native Christians, in 
our behalf? Not at all ! There was the 
same wish, the same heart and prayer, at a 
multitude of other missionary stations. Our 
government was not aware at the time of 
the great strength it was receiving then from 
the prayers and sympathies of good people 
redeemed from paganism, the world over. 

The high standard of credit at which our 
Board held itself abroad during the war, 
even at its darkest period, I rejoice to say, 
had a most favorable influence upon our 
national credit at this time. It is natural 
that it should be so. The credit of a great 
representative Society of Christians in the 
country, was properly taken as indexical 
of the national wealth and will and heart. 
It had a tendency to assure and strengthen 
the credit of the government. The propa- 
gators of Christianity over the world were 



NATIONAL CREDIT. 197 

rightly taken as representatives of the 
national character and credit. If business 
houses in Europe, such as the Barings and 
Rothschilds, would take the Board's scrip, 
or answer its drafts at sight, this had a 
tendency to hold up our other credits in the 
world's markets. It was known that the 
American Board depended mainly on the 
ability and benevolence of the churches ; 
that they had no other capital or resources 
upon which to do their great business 
abroad, — or none to be named. But the 
Board went on with its vast work as if the 
country was at peace. The pulse of its 
energy and credit was firm. Christian men 
gave as before, and more abundantly, and 
seemed to lose none of their interest in the 
foreign missionary work. This told well 
upon the public sentiment of the world. It 
was a talisman as touching our credit abroad. 
If the Board had given up its work, as some 
timidly counseled at the time, the effect 
upon the national cause and credit abroad 



198 THESE FOR THOSE. 

would have been injurious. If the Board 
had suspended specie payment among its 
missions ; or had cut them down to the basis 
of a depreciated currency ; or had diminished 
largely its appropriations ; or had reported 
a sinking debt, a lost credit, or an empty 
treasury, it would have been felt in the 
stock-markets of Europe, and the govern- 
ment securities would have suffered in con- 
sequence. 

I have thus glanced at the influence exert- 
ed on our government by foreign missions. 
We have seen that it is a positively favorable 
influence. The full treatment of the subject 
would require a volume. But as the con- 
viction of a fact is what I aim at now, rather 
than to present full information of the 
grounds upon which the fact is based, I rest 
the point here. 



TOPIC IV. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS, 
AS PROFITABLE PECUNIARILY. 



CHAPTER Xm. 

THE EFFECT OF FOREIGN MISSIONS ON COM- 
MERCE AND TRADE. 

Testimony of Rev. T. S. Williamson — Saving in 
Insurance — Perils of the Pacific — The Change 
— Our trade with Africa and other Heathen 
Countries. 



PROPOSE now to show the pecuni- 
ary benefits that come to us from 
foreign missions. I shall devote little 
space to this subject. I feel less of interest 
in it than in the other Topics. The naming 
of this subject may take the reader by sur- 
prise. He will hardly be prepared to hear 
that foreign missions, often regarded as an 
outset or burden, have x3ome to be consid- 
ered as profitable pecuniarily. But if it can 
be shown that they are so, it certainly re- 
moves one of the most popular objections 
against them. 




202 THESE FOR THOSE. 

I take the item of commerce upon the 
Pacific Ocean. Once the terror of that ocean 
was the barbarism of the natives. The great 
peril of sea-faring men there, was not storms 
and waves, but savages and cannibals. Our 
vessels had to go to that Ocean for trade. 
Those thousands of islands were once heathen. 
Hence the peril of our ships and crews there. 

Formerly, when ships were wrecked upon 
the isles of the Pacific, the native inhabitants 
appropriated so much of the cargo as they 
could get hold of, to their own use, and 
often murdered the whole crew. When ves- 
sels stopped at the islands to obtain water 
and vegetables, the crews were sometimes 
overpowered, and the vessels destroyed. 

But it is different now. Most of those 
islands are evangelized. A hundred thou- 
sand converts have been numbered there. 
One of the good effects of this change is the 
comparative safety given to our ships and 
men on those seas. Wherever missions have 
been established, it is safe *to go to the 



PROTECTION AND INSURANCE, 203 

islands for supplies and for trade. When 
ships are wrecked there, the natives who once 
took advantage of such a calamity, now exert 
themselves to save the lives and the property 
of the sufferers. Many ship-owners and nav- 
igators have acknowledged their indebted- 
ness to missions in thus protecting their 
property and the lives of their men. It has 
been computed that the property thus saved 
is worth far more than the entire cost of all 
the missions to those islands. Nor does this 
include the saving of property on the score 
of insurance. This is a large item of 
expense, and somewhat difficult to estimate. 
I venture to say that if the moral condition 
of the islands of the Pacific Ocean was at the 
present time as low as it was fifty years ago, 
the cost of insurance upon vessels chartered 
for those seas, would be vastly greater than 
it now is. 

This item does not affect the merchants 
and ship-owners materially; for they add 
these collateral expenses and risks to the 



204 THESE FOR THOSE. 

price of the goods they sell. If they had to 
pay for insurance twice the amount they now 
pay, it would not be at their own expense. 
They would properly add this amount to the 
price of their merchandise. They would not 
have to lose it themselves. The purchasers 
and consumers would have to bear the loss. 
Here, then, is a saving to every family that 
uses goods that cross the Pacific Ocean ; teas, 
crapes, silks, oils, tropical fruit, and the 
thousand things of beauty, luxury and taste 
that find their way to us from over the 
Pacific waters. I wish it to be kept in mind 
that all this is saved to us by reason of the 
civilization that has come over those islands 
through the gospel. 

" The adventurer, Magellan, fell at the La- 
drone Islands ; Captain Cook was murdered 
at the Sandwich Islands ; the ship f Venus ' 
was taken at Tahiti ; M. de Langle and his 
conpanions were killed at the Samoas ; The 
1 Port au Prince ' was seized at Lefuga, and 
the crew of the * Boyd ' was massacred at New 



WILLIAMS'S TESTIMONY. 205 

Zealand. Multitudes have perished by sav- 
age violence on those seas. But now at 
nearly all those islands there are mission- 
ary stations, where hundreds of vessels an- 
nually resort with safety. The crews look 
forward with pleasure to the hour when the 
anchor shall be dropped in the tranquil La- 
goon, or island harbor, and they shall find a 
generous welcome. At a small expense now 
the captains can obtain a fresh supply of 
various provisions, refit their vessels, and 
strengthen their crews." l 

When vessels are wrecked about those 
islands now, the captains attest that not a 
nail is lost. Hundreds of thousands of dol- 
lars have been sent home as proceeds from 
the sale of property saved from wrecks in 
that ocean by the energy and personal adven- 
ture often of Christian natives. Thus many 
a missionary has had the influence of a gov- 
ernment consul at the islands, and without 
any expense to government ; and his station 

1 WiUiams's Missionary Enterprises. 



206 THESE FOR THOSE. 

becomes a little insurance company, to pro- 
tect American property and life. This in- 
deed is income, without any offset or outset 
to those concerned. " The missionary enter- 
prise, by finding out new havens at the 
antipodes for our fleets, opening new chan- 
nels for . our commerce, and everywhere 
multiplying the friends of our nation, is 
eminently conducive to our prosperity in 
temporal and pecuniary interests. Such is 
the imposing magnitude to which this class 
of results has attained, that men who care 
not for any other or higher benefit, ac- 
knowledge that this alone would amply 
repay the efforts by which it has been 
gained." l I turn now to other views to illus- 
trate the profitableness of foreign missions. 
Says the Eev. H. A. Wilder, missionary 
of the Board in Africa : " When we went to 
the Zulu Land, we found only the rudest 
implements of farming. A clumsy hick, or 
hoe, was used for breaking up the ground, 

1 Harris. 



WILDER S TESTIMONY. 207 

for hoeing the crops, for ditching, etc. 
Thousands of oxen were idling away their 
useless existence on the hills. All the bur- 
den of agriculture came on the women, who 
were bought and sold as chattels. To yoke 
an ox to a cart or plow was never dreamed 
of. They had neither carts nor plows nor 
any such things. 

"But the missionaries took plows there 
and used wagons, trained oxen to the yoke, 
and showed the natives how much more 
valuable an ox yoked to the cart or plow 
was, in breaking up the ground and trans- 
porting burdens, than a woman. 

"Now there are owned by Kaffirs hundreds 
of American plows ; and there are broken 
to the yoke, tens of thousands of oxen, by 
those who twenty-five years ago never saw 
a plow, nor yoked an ox. It is said that 
last year five hundred American plows were 
sold to the natives of Natal alone. Those 
plows were made in this country ; and Natal 
is not the only market, but only one in a 



208 THESE FOR THOSE. 

hundred other markets, opened in the 
heathen world by missionary labor, 

"But not plows alone have been demanded 
by our native Christians. They all clothe 
themselves in civilized and European style, 
creating a large and ever-increasing demand 
for the products of the loom. Furniture 
for their houses, cooking utensils, wagons, 
carts, harnesses, saddles, bridles, books, 
maps, etc., etc., are being demanded and 
purchased by those who but for Christianity 
would now be naked heathen, living on the 
labor of the women whom they own. 

M Not only to the professed Christians have 
these civilizing influences come, but far away, 
in regions beyond, among those who, as yet, 
profess no regard for the gospel, the plow, 
the cart and things of civilization are sought, 
because the c believers' have demonstrated 
their utility. 

" The American plows sold last year brought 
more money than costs to sustain the Zulu 
mission. And this is in addition to all other 



OTHER FACTS. 209 

kinds of American manufactures which the 
gospel among the Kaffirs has made a de- 
mand for." 

As an illustration of these facts, and in 
confirmation of what Bro. Wilder has said, 
I will state that a house in Boston filled an 
order made by Mr. Rood of the Zulu mission 
for his own people simply, of twelve hun- 
dred dollars in one year. In that order 
were included almost every conceivable 
article essential to civilized life. 

It will be remembered that now nearly 
one-sixth part of heathen Africa has been 
reached or approached by missionary influ- 
ence. And the work is going forward 
steadily. 

It will be seen that the opening of so large 
a portion of Africa to the commerce and mar- 
kets of the world, is a matter worthy of con- 
sideration and of record. It affects business 
slightly in all our country ; and adds a 
fraction at least to the profits of labor and of 
trade. 

14 



210 THESE FOR THOSljJ. 

But the openings in Africa are hardly to 
be named when we take the whole missionary 
world into the account : China, Japan, India, 
Burmah, Turkey, the Hawaiian Islands, In- 
dian tribes and other vast islands now upon 
the highway of our nation westward. I argue 
that the aggregate of business thus brought 
to our markets by this world-wide work, 
counted in with the amount saved by the in- 
creased safety of our commerce on the high 
seas, with the diminished cost of insurance, 
by reason of the evangelizing of those savage 
islands, — adding, too, the vast amount saved 
in the management of our Indian affairs and 
our foreign diplomacy through the influence 
and aid of missionaries, — many times more 
than compensates for all that is paid out for 
their support ! 

But if commerce and trade are thus affected 
by bare beginnings in this direction, what will 
the result be when foreign missions shall 
have moved on toward their meridian ? When 
instead of one-sixth of heathen Africa, one- 
half of it shall have come to our markets ; 



self-reliance. 211 

and for a hundredth part of China, we shall 
trade with a tenth, a fifth, or a half even of 
that great empire, then the question of their 
profitableness will be settled. 

But will not the heathen themselves be- 
come producers when they have reached civ- 
ilization and intelligence, and so supply their 
own wants ? It will no doubt be so in part ; 
but this form of civilizing influence from 
Christian effort is very gradual. And large 
portions of the pagan world do not seem' to 
possess the Yankee gift of invention in a 
high degree, nor very much of mechanical 
skill. It is clear that the openings for 
commerce and trade in the heathen world are 
to be far more rapid than the development 
of the Anglo-Saxon talent and tact in the 
way of the useful arts. Necessity stimulates 
invention ; but where invention has forerun 
or anticipated the consciousness of necessity, 
as in the heathen world, that have the 
products of our invention and arts offered 
them at their hand, one of the incitements 
to invention and skill will be gone. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PECUNIARY ADVANTAGE OF MISSIONS. 

President Lincoln's Gift — Kekela's Letter — How 
Missions have helped Trade — The Views of 
Rev. T. S. Williamson. 




T will be recollected that Presi- 
dent Lincoln made a present of 
five hundred dollars in gold to a native 
missionary at the Marquesas Islands for the 
protection given to an American whale- 
ship. The ship had touched at one of 
those savage islands for supplies. Mr. 
Whalon, the first mate, went ashore. He 
was at once seized and dragged away to be 
killed and eaten. A chief had ordered this 
to avenge, as he pretended, an insult done 
him by wicked men from Peru long ago. 

Kekela, a copper-colored missionary, na- 
tive of the Sandwich Islands, made haste to 



KEKELA TO PRES. LINCOLN. 213 

rescue the mate, and succeeded, by giving up 
a new six-oared boat to the chief. Kekela 
greatly prized this boat, and needed it much 
in his missionary work. Others would have 
fallen into the same snare but for a Marque- 
san girl living in the family of Kekela, who 
made signs to the men to go back to their 
vessel. 

But for the presence of this missionary, 
the ship, cargo and crew would undoubtedly 
have been destroyed. This story was told 
Mr. Lincoln, who was deeply affected by it, 
and advanced from his own purse five hun- 
dred dollars in gold, to be given to the 
deliverer of that American crew. Here is a 
part of the letter written by Kekela to Mr. 
Lincoln in response : — 

w Greetings to you, great and good friend. 
My mind is stirred up to address you in 
friendship. I greatly respect you for holding 
converse with such humble ones. Such 
you well know us to be. When I saw 
one of your countrymen, a citizen of your 



214 THESE FOR THOSE, 

great nation, ill-treated, and about to be 
baked and eaten, as a pig is eaten, I ran to 
deliver him, full of pity and grief at the evil 
deed of these benighted people. 

" As to this friendly deed of mine in saving 
Mr. Whalon, its seed came from your great 
land, and was brought by certain of your 
countrymen, who had received the love of 
God. It was planted in Hawaii, and I 
brought it to plant in this land and in these 
dark regions, that they might receive the 
root of all that is good and true which is 
love: Love to Jehovah: Love to self: 
Love to our neighbor. This is a great thing 
for your great nation to boast of before all 
the nations of the earth. From your great 
land a most precious seed was brought to the 
land of darkness. 

" How shall I repay your great kindness 
to me? Thus David asked of Jehovah, and 
thus I ask of you, the President of the 
United States. This is my only payment — 
that which I have received of the Lord, aloha 



TOO LATE. 215 

(love). May the love of the Lord Jesus 
abound with you until the end of this 
terrible wai; in your land." 

"Alas, that the great man to whom this 
letter was addressed, did not live even to 
see the letter ! When it reached Washing- 
ton our whole land was in mourning." * 

In addition to the saving of life and prop- 
erty as above described, these missions have 
by their civilizing influence, and thus increas- 
ing the wants and industries of the islanders, 
increased the amount and profit of our com- 
merce. These things have been seen and 
acknowledged by traders, and missions have 
been commended as profitable by those who 
had no interest in religion. 

Savages do not know the value of soils 
or mines, timbers or waterfalls. They do 
not see the advantage of a house to live in, 
over a hut or shanty, nor the convenience of 
furniture, and the things that come of thought 
and taste. 

1 History of the " Morning Star." 



216 THESE FOR THOSE. 

But missions awaken the intellect and the 
whole manhood ; they bring men to a con- 
sciousness of their deficiencies and neces- 
sities. They soon come to see that it is 
unsuitable to go naked, that cleanliness is 
better than filth, industry than idleness, 
civilization than savagism. So their thriffc- 
lessness gradually disappears. They come to 
want houses to live in, with doors, windows 
and furniture, which we furnish for a price. 
And the soil is taken in hand. They want 
plows to break it up, and every sort of agri- 
cultural implement that we make. There 
is a growing demand in heathen countries 
for almost every thing that we manufacture. 
A small per cent of profit has been added to 
nearly every railroad and manufacturing 
house in the country from this source. Our 
wharves, ships, farms, factories, waterfalls, 
are worth a fraction more on account of for- 
eign missions. It has been estimated that 
England recieves back tenfold in various 
ways on her outlay for missions. She gives 



SORGHUM PLANT. 217 

ten dollars to convert the world, and gets 
back in return a hundred dollars. It is 
something certainly that for every dollar we 
send to the heathen, we get back two, three or 
five dollars, and this ratio is increasing every 
year. Missions are becoming a source of 
profit to our people. Let this fact have its 
weight in our estimate of them, and silence 
the complaint that foreign missions im- 
poverish us. It is not so ; they are a source 
of wealth to the nation. 

Near the beginning of the year 1854, Eev. 
H. A. Wilder, missionary to the Zulus in 
South Africa, called the attention of Ameri- 
can agriculturists, through a letter he pub- 
lished in the Journal of Commerce, to the 
African Sorghum, or " Imphee" as a syrup 
and sugar-producing plant. He sent the 
names and descriptions of upwards of a 
dozen varieties, and also sent specimens of 
the seeds to the editors of the Journal of 
Commerce, and others in America. An 
eminent horticulturist in America planted 



218 THESE FOR THOSE. 

seed sent to him, and reported favorably of 
the saccharine properties of the juice which he 
tested. Soon after this plant was brought to 
the notice of Americans through the Journal 
of Commerce, as above stated, Mr. Leonard 
Weay, an Englishman who had resided in 
Natal two or three years, came to America, 
bringing quantities of Imphee seed with 
him, and did much towards introducing and 
extending its culture. 

The annual value of the crop of Imphee and 
Chinese Sorghum, a similar plant, amounts 
to several millions of dollars yearly. We 
believe that to Mr. Wilder belongs the credit 
of having first brought this plant to the 
notice of the American people by his letter, 
and by sending the seeds first cultivated in 
this country. The growth of this plant is 
very extensive throughout the South and 
West. Where the larger varieties of Indian 
corn come to perfection, this plant flourishes. 
There are numerous large establishments 
devoted chiefly to the manufacture of ma- 



SANTEE COLONY. 219 

chinery to convert the juice of the Imphee 
into syrup and sugar. 

The following facts would have come in 
properly under the preceding Topic, as illus- 
trating the usefulness of missions in promot- 
ing Indian civilization. But as they also 
illustrate the profitableness of missions 
pecuniarily, in the way of influencing the red 
men to relinquish their appropriations from 
the government, which would come indirectly 
from the purses of the people, and set up 
for themselves, instead of remaining expen- 
sive wards of the white people, I thought it 
best to make the record under this Topic. 

Last year, some fifty families of Indians 
colonized from the Santee Agency, and set- 
tled on the head waters of the Big Sioux river. 
Their leading idea is to become Citizens of 
the United States. They leave behind all 
Indian customs, and adopt our own American 
customs and laws, to get away from Indian 
habits and to find a better home. In leaving 
Nebraska, they forfeit all the government 



220 THESE FOR THOSE. 

gives them, which is quite considerable at 
the present time. 

Rev. J. P. Williamson says : * The com- 
munity is reported to be prosperous, both 
temporally and spiritually." They have suc- 
ceeded in supporting themselves comfortably 
during the year, and have already obtained 
their Homestead papers. 

These Indians carry with them Christian 
ideas, holding meetings on the Sabbath and 
during the week. They are desirous to obtain 
missionary help. A church has already been 
formed of about ninety members. 

We record these facts with great pleasure, 
for their bearing on the Topic now before us, 
and grave questions relating to Indian civili- 
zation, and the profitableness of missions. 

I add here an extended extract from a 
letter I received recently from our veteran 
missionary, Rev. T. S. Williamson, before 
referred to. It bears directly upon this sub- 
ject. It is from a most reliable man, and 
has a historic value that well repays the 



MR. WILLIAMSON. 221 

reading, though of some length. He shows 
the saving of money, as well as of life, that 
our Indian missions have been to us. His 
testimony would have been apposite under 
the two preceding topics, to show the value 
of missions to the country generally, as also 
to the government in particular, in its man- 
agement of the Indian Department. But I 
have reserved it for this place, as good 
testimony with reference to the profitable- 
ness of missions in a pecuniary aspect. In 
another part of the letter, for which I have 
not room here, the writer proceeds to certain 
military calculations, and shows to a demon- 
stration, on the basis of the reckoning of the 
"Peace Commissioners," as touching the cost 
of our Indian wars, and the cost of cutting 
off hostile Indians, that the action of our 
mission, and that of the friendly Indians 
under its direct influence, has accomplished 
what would have cost the government more 
than twenty millions to do. If the Peace 
Commissioners are correct in their calcula- 



222 THESE FOR THOSE. 

tions, and Mr. Williamson is right in his 
records and statements, we are brought 
inevitably to his conclusions. But as the 
sum total seems so nearly fabulous, and as 
some doubt may rest upon the correctness of 
government estimates and of missionary 
estimates, I do not care to put down this 
sum to the credit of the missions. We find 
enough in the extracts, about which there 
is no doubt, to justify the proposition or 
statement that missions are profitable to us 
pecuniarily. For whatever is a saving to 
the government as such, let it be remem- 
bered, is profitable to us individually. We 
pay government expenses by a sort of 
insensible taxation. • The millions it costs 
to subdue and govern the Indians, and to 
fulfil contracts with them, are added to the 
cost of the things we import and use in 
daily life ; as also upon things manufactured 
at home, upon which there is a revenue tax, 
all which has to be paid by those who use 
the things manufactured. So a million spent 



MR. WILLIAMSON. 223 

in our Indian affairs, is really assessed upon 
the people, who are the consumers ; and 
every million saved is so much deducted 
from this insensible but omnipresent taxation 
of the people. 

Mr. Williamson says: — 

A careful examination of the results of these 
missions among the Indians would probably 
show that the money and labor expended on 
them have been a very profitable investment in 
a financial point of view. 

To carry out the policy of our government, and 
keep the Indians always on our frontier, it has been 
found necessary to move many of them from - one 
reserve to another, and some of the tribes have 
been removed as many as half a dozen times. 
They are generally averse to leaving the graves 
of their ancestors. They know, too, that they can 
live more comfortable while surrounded by people 
who are under the restraints of law, than on the 
frontier, where they will be exposed to all the evils, 
without any of the benefits, of civilization. So in 
several instances it has been found necessary to 
move them by force, — sometimes attended with 
war, as in driving the Sacs and Foxes from Illinois 
in 1832, and the Seminoles from Florida a few years 



224 THESE FOR THOSE. 

later. Even when there was no war, moving Indi- 
ans by military force was a very expensive operation. 
When the increase of population in Iowa made it 
necessary to remove the Winnebagoes from what 
was called the neutral grounds in that State to the 
reservation assigned them on Long Prairie Eiver 
in Minnesota, they refused to go ; and it was neces- 
sary to employ the military to compel them to go. 
Many of them soon returned to their old haunts in 
Wisconsin and Iowa, and Government was called 
on to remove them again. As moving the Indians 
has been found to be a very unpleasant business for 
our military officers and soldiers, — a contract was 
made with H. M. Eice, previously a trader among 
them, and subsequently a Senator in Congress from 
Minnesota, to take them to Long Prairie, for up- 
wards of seventy dollars a head. The American 
Pur Company were at that time hostile to H. M. 
Eice, and desirous of retaining the Winnebagoes in 
Wisconsin. Severe articles against Mr. Eice and 
the Government were published in the St. Paul 
papers, charging the officers who made the contract 
with extravagance and corruption. To this the 
officer replied, showing that it was the cheapest 
way in which the government could move them, 
and cost much less than it had cost to take them to 
the same place before. 



MR. WILLIAMSON. 225 

The business of the missionary being to com- 
municate knowledge, the Indians who have 
had missionaries residing among them for years, 
whether they have embraced the gospel or not, 
have obtained so much knowledge of our nation, 
that when the officers of our Government tell them 
they must go, knowing that our Government had 
power to compel them to go, however averse they 
may be to leaving the graves of their fathers and 
scenes of their childhood, they do not wait for 
soldiers to drive them. The only exception to this 
I can recollect, was in the case of the removal of the 
Cherokees and Choctaws. In that case they could 
not believe that Government would compel them to 
leave a country in which we had promised to 
protect them, and a large majority persistently 
refused to sell. 

The Dakotas who formerly dwelt on the Missis- 
sippi and lower Minnesota, were very strongly 
attached to the country which their ancestors had 
occupied for several generations. It is beautifully 
diversified with prairie, groves of timber, rivers 
and lakes; and abounded in wild fruits, game and 
fish. The Eeservation assigned them was almost 
all prairie, and destitute of game; they knew that on 
it they must depend for subsistence on cultivating 
the earth, and on what government would give 
them, 15 



226 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Those acquainted with them knew that they were 
much averse to going. Yet they did go, and the 
officers who were charged with their removal say 
in a report, printed by authority of Congress, that 
moving them did not cost the Government one 
cent. They are doubtless entitled to credit for their 
skilful management of the business. But without 
the knowledge these Dakotas had acquired in their 
intercourse with missionaries, the skill of these 
officers would have been unavailing; and the 
Dakotas would have been moved by military force, 
as were the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Poxes, and 
other tribes who had no missionaries, — costing the 
Government at the lowest calculation seventy dol- 
lars per head; and as the number moved was con- 
siderably upwards of 3,000 souls, the cost must have 
exceeded $210,000. 

" The entire cost of our mission to the Dakotas, 
including explorations, outfits of missionaries, and 
all other payments for eighteen years, was $39,296. 
The Methodists had a mission among these Indians 
for four years, and the Evangelical Society of Lau- 
sanne, Switzerland, for less than ten years. As the 
number of laborers employed by these societies was 
less, and the buildings erected by them were far 
less valuable than those of the A. B. C. F. M., it is 
probable that the whole amount expended by them 



MR. WILLIAMSON. 227 

was less than 830,000; but counting it at this, the 
entire cost of all the missions to the Dakotas is less 
than one-third of what they saved the Government 
in the single item of removing a part of these Indi- 
ans. Deducting the entire cost of all the missions, 
$69,295 from $210,000, we have a clear gain of 
$140,705, which is a net pecuniary gain to us. 

Since the discovery of gold in California, Oregon, 
and Montana, our people have so intruded on the 
hunting-grounds of the aborigines in every part of 
the country claimed by us, that they can no longer 
sustain themselves by the chase. Consequently we 
must feed them, or they must starve, or live by 
plunder, or by cultivating the earth. Heathen Indi- 
ans will not live by cultivating the earth, because it 
is contrary to the religion and customs of their an- 
cestors ; and in their estimation wicked, disgraceful 
and dangerous. Starving is very uncomfortable to 
them; and they think it more honorable as well as 
comfortable, to get food for their wives and children 
by taking it where they can find it. They say with 
Roderick Dhu: — 

" We '11 spoil the spoiler while we may, 
And from the robber rend the prey." 

Our people do not like to be robbed; nor will 
they tamely submit to it; consequently much blood 



228 THESE FOR THOSE. 

has been shed, and much ill-will generated on both 
sides. Our armies have been sent to punish the 
savages and teach them better manners. Our mili- 
tary officers, who have been commanded to do this, 
have found it very expensive, laborious and unpleas- 
ant business, attended with little success and bring- 
ing them little honor. Desirous of being relieved 
from it, they have made the calculation and demon- 
strated very clearly that it is much cheaper, as well 
as more humane, to feed and clothe these wild men, 
than to fight them; and as far as the experiment 
has been tried, it has proved much more effectual 
in restraining them from robbing our people. Ac- 
cordingly arrangements have been made to issue to 
many of them rations of flour and meat, the same 
as are issued to the soldiers of our army, and also, 
such clothing and other goods as it is supposed they 
need. The past summer the writer visited the 
Agencies on the Missouri, where rations were 
being stored for feeding some 15,000 heathen Sioux 
or Dakotas. Major Hearns at Grand Eiver, who 
had charge of much the largest stock of food, — one 
and a half million of rations, — said the daily ration * 
for each Indian there cost the United States Govern- 
ment about thirty cents, or one hundred and nine 
dollars and fifty cents a year. In addition to this, 
clothing, agricultural implements, knives, kettles 



MR. WILLIAMSON. 229 

for boiling their food, tobacco and sundry other 
articles are given, the value of which we did 
not learn; but to be sure to keep within the 
amount, we will count it at only one-fifth as much, 
and say that it costs our Government one hundred 
and twenty dollars a year to feed, clothe, and thus 
restrain each of these Indians. 

In the year 1869, it cost us not less than one hun- 
dred and twenty dollars for each of the heathen 
Sioux on the Missouri; which for 2,200, the number 
in charge of Dr. J.W. Daniels, would amount to §264,- 
000, and as the military officers who know best about 
these things tell us that it costs more to fight than 
to feed those Indians, we may safely multiply this by 
seven, the number of years the Wahpeton and Sissi- 
ton Sioux have been supported on the §120,000 with 
their own earnings, and we have §1,848,000 for the 
cost of keeping 2,200 Sioux for seven years, as they 
are kept on the Missouri. Deducting from this the 
amount actually expended on them, §120,000, and we 
find a saving of §1,728,000. How is this to be ac- 
counted for? These Sioux, or Dakotas as they call 
themselves, are all of one tribe, speak the same lan- 
guage, and thirty-five years ago, were all equally 
savage and determined not to work for a living. 

How is it that it now costs less than one sixth as 
much to keep the Wahpeton as a like number of the 



230 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Teton? But one reason, I think, can be assigned. 
In July, 1835, a mission was commenced among the 
Wahpeton, which has been continued to the present 
time. We now count more than two hundred and 
sixty communicants among them, exclusive of a 
larger number among the Santee Sioux on the Mis- 
souri. When Dakota men became Christians, they 
engaged in farming, and as the prediction that they 
would die for abandoning the customs of their an- 
cestors was not fulfilled, many who did not become 
Christians, seeing that their gods did not destroy 
the farmer Indians for cultivating the earth, fol- 
lowed their example, and before the Indian war of 
1862, many of the Wahpeton and several of the 
Sissiton, were successfully engaged in agriculture. 
In this war the Christian Indians, without excep- 
tion, and many, perhaps a majority of those 
who were not Christians, were engaged in farm- 
ing, befriended the whites ; and through their 
assistance, the missionaries and employees of 
Government, who otherwise would probably have 
been murdered, made their escape. Subse- 
quently they rescued three hundred women and 
children from those who had captured them, and 
delivered them to Gen. Sibley. In the spring of 1863 
those Dakota men who had been most active in 
befriending us in the war, interposed as a shield 



MR. WILLIAMSON. 231 

between the frontiers of Minnesota and Iowa, and 
the hostile Dakotas who had made war and com- 
mitted the massacres. The military officers who 
had charge of them bear testimony to their courage, 
fidelity, and diligence in this service. From the 
spring of 1863, when they were first employed, to 
the present time, very few of the hostile Sioux have 
ever reached the settlements of Minnesota and Iowa. 
Less than a dozen persons in these two States have 
been murdered by them. 



TOPIC V. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS 

FOR THEIR AID TO SCIENCE 

AND LITERATURE. 



CHAPTER XV. 

SCIENCE AND LITERATURE AS PROMPTED BY 
MISSIONS, 

Definition of Science and Literature — Relation 
of Science to Scripture — Obscurity — Rev. E. 
Burgess — African Illustration — Relation of 
Missions to Philology, Geography, and other 
Sciences. 



CIENCE relates to the laws of na- 
ture, and to knowledge with reference 
to those laws in their different de- 
velopments, classifications and departments. 
Literature relates to the expression of 
knowledge, or of mental conceptions. It 
comprehends what relates to truth, style and 
grace in composition. It pertains not only 
to history, reasoning and speculation, but 
covers the domain of the imagination and the 
taste. 




236 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Science employs the judgment and reason- 
ing powers mainly; literature, not discard- 
ing these, brings into exercise the taste, 
the delicate sense of fitness and beauty. 

The sciences, as a form of divine revelation, 
are monuments of God's agency- in creation, 
and are proofs of his presence and permanent 
working in nature. God teaches us by his 
works as well as by his word. These are 
indexes of his thoughts and skill, in the 
order and grandeur of creation. They are 
records of the power and benevolence of God 
in the past and present. 

The sciences bring God very near to us. 
We see him in the laws and forces of nature. 
We see his plan, his wisdom and power. 
The sciences are interpreters of the divine 
wisdom and skill. They help to put us into 
the Divine presence and communion. A 
reverent study of the sciences favors reli- 
gious character and development, strengthens 
faith and the affections. I refer to Kepler, 
Faraday, and Newton as illustrations. A 



NATURE OF REVELATION. 237 

thoughtless study of the sciences, an irrever- 
ent reading of the handwriting of God in his 
works, tends to unbelief and moral debase- 
ment. 

The great question with respect to an 
authenticated revelation is the question of 
interpretation. It is so with the revelation 
of science, it is so with the revelation 
of Scripture. Acknowledging both to be 
from God, the question returns, what do 
they teach? What interpretation are we to 
put upon them? If both are from God, they 
will certainly harmonize, if rightly inter- 
preted. 

In neither of these forms of revelation are 
we to expect immediate and positive demon- 
stration. Moral truth is not usually forced 
upon us. It is not best for us ordinarily in 
matters of moral influence, to be dealt with 
in the way of positive demonstration. The 
soul upon trial in the discipline of trust, is 
not to be treated peremptorily. Truth that 
relates to the infinite, to moral and spiritual 



238 1HE8E FOR THOSE. 

relations, should not be of such a nature or 
in such a form as to force conviction, or 
absolutely to exclude doubt. There is need 
here for the exercise of the voluntary nature, 
for the play of free and rational choice. In 
the written revelation, the reason is not 
compelled ; the truth is not forced upon the 
convictions as it is in mathematical science. 
There is the possibility of doubt and disbe- 
lief. The will is not put into subjection. 
There is room for the exercise of the reason 
and voluntary powers. 

It is so to some extent with the revelation 
given us in nature. We turn the leaves of 
science, and read with a rational, perhaps 
doubting eye. Natural science does not 
compel conviction, save as it asserts laws, and 
claims our assent to facts and phenomena 
presented. The connection of these laws 
and facts with a First Cause separate from 
nature, antecedent to nature, and independ- 
ent of her forces and order, is not proved in 
such a way as absolutely to comjpel our assent 



DOUBTS POSSIBLE. 239 

to the truth. We are not forced to refer 
these laws and facts to the agency of a per- 
sonal God. There are doubters here. The 
fool hath said in his heart, there is no God. 
The " wise " have said the same. The link 
connecting the works of God with his plan 
and will as revealed by those works, with the 
personal agency and presence of God, can 
be broken. It has often been broken. It is 
broken, indeed, with sound reason and evi- 
dence to the contrary, but broken. Great 
minds have doubted here, and great minds 
are as liable to doubt, perhaps, as feeble 
minds. 

The forms of Divine revelation are ad- 
dressed to our whole nature : not to the men- 
tal nature exclusively, but to the moral and 
voluntary nature, also. There is room here 
for the sentiment of reverence and the exer- 
cise of faith. It were not best for us that 
God should so speak as to force assent and 
compel the convictions. Truth that affects 
the moral nature should not positively ex- 



240 THESE FOR THOSE. 

elude the working of reason and the exercise 
of the voluntary principle, or the possibility 
of doubt. It has need to be presented with 
sufficient evidence to convince the reason and 
control the will. But in a state of trial we 
have need of the doubtful as well as the 
definite. We need the difficult not less than 
the plain and positive ! Faith rises to its 
exalted heights often through a misty path- 
way. We need the obscure as well as the 
serene. If all were positive and absolute 
in moral agency, where were the proving? 
What place for responsibility? God has 
dealt with us wisely, in accordance with 
our moral and intellectual nature, in the 
forms of revelation and degrees of evidence 
he has given us. 

Science relates mostly to God's natural 
attributes and works. It approaches nearer 
to positive demonstration, perhaps, than the 
written revelation, which orbs out the full 
perfection, of God, and addresses the entire 
nature of man. God has left us to make our 



INTERPRETATION. 241 

way through the mazes of truth and error, of 
attraction and repulsion, with guides that 
do not force our steps. The light held out 
to us does not constrain our vision. Our 
eyes we may close. The Divine arrange- 
ments and revelations are adapted to awaken 
the spirit of submission, of intelligent trust 
and obedience. 

We say again, the great question pertain- 
ing to a revelation, whether of Scripture or 
science, is, What does it teach ? What truths 
does it convey? What interpretation are we 
to put upon its language? The conceit of 
learning, of ignorance rather, leads to false 
interpretation, which tends to put the two 
revelations into conflict. A false interpreta- 
tion of science, or of Scripture, necessarily 
breaks the harmony between them, and 
makes against morality and religion. 

The most fearful opponent to Scripture 
in modern days, is incipient or skeptical 
science. It is in just this state that science 
becomes most confident, assumptive and 

16 



242 THESE FOR THOSE. 

arrogant. It has germs of truth, without 
their grand relations. The human mind is 
prone to be restless, speculative and dog- 
matic. And there is often the pride of dis- 
covery, or of originality. When a new 
science is slowly revealed, its few facts are 
apt to turn the heads of men, and cause them 
to be visionary, or to run wild. These 
crude facts sometimes appear to contradict 
the Bible. Thus the little craft of the newly 
trimmed science assumes to force and dash 
itself against the pillars and monuments of 
eternal truth. 

It is here that foreign missions have 
helped us, in the accurate knowledge they 
have brought to bear upon modern science. 
Scattered over the world as they have been, 
our missionaries have had opportunity to do 
something valuable in the way of giving 
breadth and accuracy to scientific knowledge. 
They have mingled with the different races 
of men ; they have visited the different con- 
tinents and countries of the world. They 



MISSIONARY AID. 24 



o 



have been able to see the effect of climate, 
the elements, the customs and habits of 
different peoples, upon mental and physical 
development. They have consequently en- 
joyed the best opportunities possible to 
judge of questions relating to the identity of 
the human race, the antiquity of man, the 
improbabilities that confront the " Develop- 
ment theory," with other kindred specu- 
lations, started by modern English and 
German theorists. 

I have noticed with interest that foreign 
missionaries who have looked into these 
questions with due care and discrimination, 
have found least difficulty in reconciling the 
teachings of science and those of Scripture. 
The wide field of knowledge that has opened 
before them, has tended to bring the two 
great revelations into adjustment and har- 
mony. 

The late Ebenezer Burgess, once a mission- 
ary in India, had written a volume upon the 
Antiquity of Man. My intimate acquaint- 



244 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ance with this lamented brother in the 
Theological Seminary and since, together 
with the knowledge I have of the researches 
and arguments brought to view in this 
volume (not yet published) , prepares me to 
say that the Christian world, not less than 
the scientific, will read the work with great 
interest and profit. It deals with this most 
difficult subject from a high, moral and sci- 
entific standpoint. It is handled by one who 
has been from the first a lover of science, and 
an adept in its laws. It is written, too, by 
a lover of revelation, who had power, intel- 
lectually and morally, to discriminate be- 
tween the claims of science and those of 
Scripture. 

The subject treated is one of special inter- 
est to the Christian public at the present 
time. It cannot be investigated satisfacto- 
rily by men of science merely, who have 
never made revelation and theology a study ; 
nor can it be handled by men of religious 
knowledge simply, who have not a thorough 



REV. E. BURGESS. 245 

acquaintance with the developments and 
progress of science. 

Mr. Burgess was distinguished for thor- 
ough scholarship, not less than for a deep 
reverence for the Scriptures. But neither 
scholarship, nor veneration for Scripture, nor 
these united, would have enabled him to 
write this volume. It required another ele- 
ment of qualification, — the knowledge and 
experience gotten from missionary life, and 
long acquaintance with the nations, races 
and languages of the East. 

From the knowledge I have of the work 
as giyen me by the author while living, I 
should regard it as a great loss to the Chris- 
tian world, if the book should fail of publica- 
tion. If the " author had lived it would 
probably have been given to the public 
before this time. If it should not be printed, 
the manuscript will become the property of 
some public library, and in this way, the 
great value of these original investigations 
concerning the antiquity of man, and the 
unity of the race, will not be lost. 



246 THESE FOR THOSE. 

» 

If the reader will pardon an illustration of 
the subject somewhat opposite to the one just 
given, and bordering a little on the ludicrous ] 
but showing the advantage of missionary 
eyes abroad, to correct errors touching the 
origin of man, I will print the following 
fact, which I received from the lips of one 
of our African missionaries. It was reported 
in this country a few years ago, and accepted 
in skeptical circles, that a race of men had 
been discovered in Africa that actually out- 
vied the monkey in the matter of the caudal 
attachment, or post appendage. The skep- 
tical and those most susceptible to the mar- 
vellous were stirred. The question began to 
be asked contemptuously, what now about 
your Bible theory of man? And Darwin, 
instead of Moses, was in the ascendant with 
the fast-thinkers and theorists of our time. 

But the sharp eyes of our missionary, who 
himself had seen all these startling phenom- 
ena, helped to settle the matter, and, I think', 
to the satisfaction of science and the skep- 



DELUSION DISSIPATED. 247 

tics at last. At a distance, these men 
seemed, as reported, to possess a superfluous 
appendix or suffix, but on a nearer approach 
the whole was ascertained to be a matter of 
toilet merely, conforming to the extreme 
of African taste or fashion. The fortunate 
discovery spoiled a bubble on the surface 
of superficial philosophy and rampant skep- 
ticism. 

The investigations made by our foreign 
missionaries have assisted largely in what 
relates to the interpretation of Scripture and 
of the ancient languages. One who well 
knew has said, that "more light has been 
thrown upon the structure of language, 
especially of the ancient languages, and the 
laws that relate to the interpretation of the 
Scriptures, through investigations made by 
foreign missionaries, than from all other 
sources put together." They have held a 
standpoint of discovery that has enabled 
them to do this. They have been upon the 
ground where the Holy Scriptures were 



248 THESE FOR THOSE. 

written. They are familiar with the customs 
and manners, styles and traditions of the 
Eastern nations. And these have not much 
changed since the Scriptures were written. 
They have mastered the ancient languages, 
kindred to those in which the Bible was 
originally written. They have made thor- 
ough researches in those lands referred to in 
the Bible. They have come into possession 
of a world of knowledge that has value in 
the work of interpreting and translating the 
Scriptures. The foreign missionary goes 
forth to his work, the salvation of the world, 
with an undeviating step. He does not for- 
get his great errand, to publish the gospel, 
and make Christ known to men. But he 
carries into this work an open eye 2 and comes 
at length to have a practised eye. He car- 
ries into it a cultivated intellect, prepared to 
read the various literatures, the discrepant 
traditions, the dark mythologies, hiero- 
glyphics and symbols that abound in the 
nations and languages of olden times, 



DR. THOMPSON. 249 

around whose history such sacred associa- 
tions gather. 

Look at the recent work of Dr. William 
M. Thompson, missionary at Beirut, styled, 
"The Land and the Book." Who could 
have written that hook but a foreign mission- 
ary ? It required a life of familiar acquaint- 
ance with those nations, languages and 
scenes, such as give to the work its marvel- 
lous interest. By reason of these labors, 
the Bible is now read with new interest. 
Light is thrown upon many an obscure 
passage. Things that seemed difficult and 
mysterious are now clear and attractive. 
The reader enjoys in that book half the 
pleasure of an actual survey of the scenes 
themselves. The descriptions are life-like, 
so that one scarcely needs the help of the 
eye to make them real to himself. 

It is not my purpose to go into particulars 
with reference to works written by our 
missionaries. I make this one point, about 
which these barely indexical illustrations 



250 THESE FOR THOSE. 

gather, which is this : the researches and 
discoveries made by missionaries abroad, 
which have thrown light upon science and 
the interpretation of Scripture, have had the 
effect of bringing these into a more positive 
and beautiful harmony. 

I will refer now to researches made in the 
Holy Land, years ago, by Dr. Robinson. 
These have great value with regard to geog- 
raphy, antiquity and archaeology relating to 
Palestine and other ancient places ; as also 
in regard to the interpretation of the Holy 
Scriptures. The debt the Christian world 
owes to that great work is acknowledged by 
every intelligent reader. The world of sci- 
ence and of letters is greatly indebted to 
this work of original research and discovery. 

But Dr. Robinson was dependent on mis- 
sionaries in the East for assistance in his 
work. He could not have prosecuted his 
researches advantageously if it had not been 
for their presence, their scholarship and per- 
sonal aid. They knew many times as much 



DR. ROBINSON. 251 

about the Holy Land, and matters concerning 
which he had need to know, as the learned 
Doctor himself, at the outset. They were 
eyes and ears for him; they were his 
interpreters, not only in point of language, 
but in the great matters concerning which he 
had need to learn. They led him into fields 
of curious knowledge, which he has so faith- 
fully described. Drs. Smith, Eiggs, Thomp- 
son and others went with him in turn from 
place to place, and directed his inquiries 
and lent him their aid. 

Some of these men were as capable of 
doing this great work as was Dr. Eobinson 
himself, — as Dr. Thompson, missionary at 
Beirut, has proved in his own more recent 
and attractive volume. In the long period 
of their lives, as a matter of relaxation and 
recuperation, they have found time to assist 
in these researches, and occasionally to make 

original investigations themselves as touch- 
es o 

ing geography, history and the antiquities 
of that part of the world. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

RESEARCHES IN GEOGRAPHY AND OTHER 
SCIENCES. 

Testimony of Dr. Hamlin — Missionary Explorers 
— Their Labors compared with other Explor- 
ers — Geographical Researches in China — 
Japan and the Indian Islands— In Africa — 
Islands of the Pacific — Indian Territories. 



»EV. Ctrus Hamlin, D. D., Presi- 
dent of Kobert College at Constanti- 
nople, a reviewer of Dr. Eobinson, 
says : " Geography and philology are 
largely missionary sciences. So is a great 
deal of history. We should know much less 
of the origin of the Greek philosophy, of 
Plato and of Aristotle, of Gnosticism, Par- 
seeism, Brahminism, Buddhism and the like, 
were it not for the missionary work in the 
East." 




FIRST WORK. 253 

When we send missionaries to a new field, 
their first work is that of exploration. They 
are instructed to make a general geograph- 
ical survey of the country, or of the parts of 
it to which they are sent. It is necessary to 
obtain some knowledge of the people, their 
location, and connection with other commu- 
nities. Knowledge has need to be gained 
of their traditions and habits, government 
and social relations, the face of the country, 
and of its various capabilities. Such explo- 
ration is not always extended to every por- 
tion of these countries. But as the people 
are to be redeemed from barbarism, and 
brought into a state of Christian enlighten- 
ment and civilization by missionary labor, 
it is important that some general knowledge 
of them in these respects should be gained 
at the outset. This is necessary in order 
that the mission may be properly located 
and organized, and the best plan of opera- 
tions be formed. 

The knowledge of the geography of the 



254 THESE FOR THOSE. 

world has been obtained very largely from 
foreign missionaries. The facts brought to 
light by commerce and navigation have 
been limited mainly to the waters and coasts, 
to which these have been mostly confined. 
The knowledge added to the science of 
geography, from travellers and adventurers, 
is, to a large extent, unreliable. They 
are tempted to exaggerate, and substitute 
dreams of the fancy for facts obtained by 
patient toil. It is admitted by the greatest 
geographers that information obtained from 
foreign missionaries with regard to the sur- 
face of the earth and the different races of 
men, is far more complete and useful than 
that obtained from other sources. Our 
missionaries go beyond the bounds of civil- 
ization, usually, to nations and tribes that 
are comparatively very little known to the 
world. We are thus greatly indebted to 
these explorers who go abroad as mission- 
aries, for the knowledge we have of a large 
part of the uncivilized world. 



NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH. 255 

Surely if religion, with science her hand- 
maid, is to aid in giving us a new heavens and 
a new earth, to be the abode of righteous- 
ness, the foreign missionary enterprise comes 
in as auxiliary in this final work. With 
stations on nearly every coast and in every 
quarter of the globe, in opposite hemispheres 
and zones, and under all heavens ; possessing 
thus a standpoint or high vantage-ground for 
observation, research and physical knowl- 
edge, the missionaries of the cross hold a 
position that enables them to hasten onward 
this grand result. They carry in their hands 
the lamps of science and research as they go 
upon errands of mercy to men. And when 
the sciences that relate to the heavens and 
the earth are complete, these heavens and 
this earth will be in some sense new. And 
when the dwellers upon earth shall have 
learned God's law and grace as supplemental 
not only to natural and scientific law, but as 
crowning all material laws, then will this 
prophecy be completed in its broadest sense, 



256 THESE FOR THOSE. 

and the heavens and the earth, spiritual and 
temporal, will be new. 

The knowledge of astromony, as well as 
of geography, has been of great use to our 
missionaries in their work, in demonstrating 
to the heathen the absurdity of their systems 
of religion, as also the falsehood of their 
sacred books, of their priests and systems of 
philosophy. 

Our missionaries have given us the most 
reliable account we have of the Empire of 
China, of its geography, form of government, 
various philosophies and religion, its strange 
language and dialects, its coasts, islands, 
rivers, cities and grand physical features, and 
through a very large extent of the Em- 
pire. This quarter of the globe has thus 
been opened up to the view of the civilized 
world, and mainly through the explorations 
of these men. Historians and geographers 
are largely indebted to them for the informa- 
tion they have thus given the world. Con- 
tributions of great value to science are con- 



EMPIRE OF JAPAN. 257 

tinually coming to our knowledge from this 
source : the fact that gives this knowledge 
special value is, it can be trusted ! It is 
accurate, reliable and accumulative. 

The same is beginning to be true of the 
Empire of Japan. Less was known of this 
people twenty years ago, than of almost any 
other nation on earth. They are an exclusive 
nation., insulated in their position, off from 
the great pathway of commerce, — refusing 
commercial and diplomatic relations, to a 
large extent, with the rest of the world. Very 
little was known of them till recently ; the 
knowledge that has come to us of this empire 
has been in part from the pens of missionaries. 
They have told us of the people, of the novel 
structure of their duplicate government, the 
grandeur of their cities, the general features 
of the country, and the characteristics of the 
population. Such knowledge is all the more 
important to us, as we are coming into more 
immediate relations to that people. They are 
to be our neighbors on the west, an ocean 
swiftly crossed by steamers only intervening. 

17 



258 THESE FOR THOSE. 

The same general facts hold true with 
regard to the East Indian Islands. Mission- 
ary labor has been attempted there ; con- 
siderable knowledge has been gained of those 
vast Islands, and of the barbarous peoples 
that inhabit them. That knowledge will 
be enlarged from the same sources, and 
will become more and more valuable as 
these islands are brought into the track of 
commerce and into the pathway of civilized 
nations. * 

It was not the policy of the East India 
Company that controlled India and parts of 
Burmah for ages, to give the world much 
knowledge with regard to those countries. 
It was for their interest to keep the nations 
in comparative ignorance with respect to 
them. Their rich possessions were thus 
rendered more safe, — so it was supposed. 
It was not until those countries were visited 
by foreign missionaries, that the world had 
much reliable knowledge of them. The 
Judsons and Boardmans, with their co-labor- 



EMPIRE OF INDIA, 259 

ers, have told us nearly all we know of Bur- 
mah, its geography and science, manners 
and peoples. Almost nothing is known of 
Ceylon, save what the missionaries have told 
us, — Poor, Spaulding, Scudder and others. 
And as we go out upon the great Empire of 
India, with its two hundred millions of 
inhabitants, we step upon terra incognita, 
as it were, save as we learn about it from 
the reports and journals of foreign missiona- 
ries. There are probably some five hundred 
of these in all, laboring in that vast empire. 
Some twenty-five different societies have 
missionaries there. They are scattered along 
the whole circumference of the land. We 
find them on the sea of Arabia, from the 
most southern Cape of Comorin to the great 
mountain passes north ; thence under the 
shadow of the dark Himalayas that prop the 
heavens ; and eastward along the great river, 
down to Calcutta ; and thence along the shore 
to Madras, and the Archipelago of Ceylon. 
There are interior establishments, as at 



260 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Madura and regions contiguous, at Ahmed- 
nuggur and places around. Thus the 
geography and natural history of these 
regions are known to us. Missions have 
been established there for many years. The 
civilization of India has been greatly ad- 
vanced by them, and through the policy of 
the English Government, which has been 
essentially modified and improved by these 
extended missionary operations, these facts 
have now become a part of the world's 
knowledge. What would be known of the 
geography of India, if Buchanan and others- 
like him had not traveled in that vast 
country, and given to us the results of their 
researches ? 

How greatly are we iudebted to the labors 
and writings of Cary, of Swartz, Duff, 
Allen, Burgess, with a score of others, 
whose names I have no need to mention, 
for valuable knowledge with respect to the 
Empires of India; their history, antiquities, 
geographical features ; manners and customs 



TURKISH EMPIRE. 261 

of the people; mountains, waters, soils and 
vegetable growths? 

Bat we come nearer home, to the Turkish 
Empire, — including Palestine and Egypt. 
Who has made the most accurate investiga- 
tions in Egypt, and up the Nile ; among the 
monuments, hieroglyphics and mysteries of 
that once proud land ? We know more con- 
cerning the different nationalities that have 
been thrown together in that one corner of 
Asia, speaking as many different languages, 
having their literature mostly in ancient 
tongues that have ceased to be spoken, from 
foreign missionaries, than from all other 
sources ! Their contributions to Bible geog- 
raphy and general science are invaluable. 
No countries visited by missionaries have 
been more fully explored than these. The 
mountains have been crossed and recrossed. 
The vast plains and deserts have been 
traversed in many directions, — even the 
recesses of the Koordish mountains have 
been penetrated, and all that wild region 



262 THESE FOR THOSE. 

disclosed. So with the Nestorian field, its 
contiguous lake and mountain; of the As- 
syrian field, its rivers, deserts, sites of vast 
cities and ancient ruins ; also the cold regions 
of Ararat, Upper Euphrates, and Eastern 
Turkey, embracing the ancient Garden of 
Eden. That whole empire has come out to 
the view of the civilized world through 
explorations made by missionaries. What 
interest the journal of Dr. Grant has thrown 
around the Koordish people and their moun- 
tain home ; also the Life of Mr. Rhea, and 
the writings of Perkins, Stoddard and others 
in the Nestorian field, of D wight and Hamlin, 
Goodell and Thompson, Smith and others, in 
the western part of the Empire ! Cities, 
islands, mountains and sacred places are 
shown to us for the first time as they exist 
and have existed. 

We pass round to Africa. But little was 
known of this continent till within the last 
half-century, or till missionaries were sent 
there. The continent has been a good deal 



AFRICA. 263 

explored since, and mostly by foreign mis- 
sionaries. In the west, it has been done by 
those connected with the Colonies, and such 
as have gone out thence to contiguous and 
interior tribes ; also by missionaries on the 
coast not connected with the Colonies. In 
the south and southeast, there are now more 
than two hundred missionaries in the field. 
Some of them, like Dr. Moffat, have been 
there half a century. Several in the Zulu 
field have been there more than thirty years. 
They have been driven about from place to 
place, from the interior to the coast, over 
mountains and wastes, till their knowledge 
of those Kaffir tribes, and of the geography 
of that part of the continent, has become 
extensive and accurate. 

Contemplate the travels and explorations 
of Dr. Livingstone, who was sent out to 
Africa by the London Missionary Society. 
He began his tours from the Kaffir field 
where he was located, and has travelled east 
and west, from coast to coast, bearing north- 



264 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ward, taking the survey of rivers, moun- 
tains, lakes and countries over which he 
passed, till he has reached, as he judges, 
the sources of the Nile. No traveller has 
contributed more to geographical science, to 
'say nothing of other valuable knowledge, 
than Dr. Livingstone, the Kaffir missionary. 
Turn to the Islands of the Pacific Ocean : 
the Hawaiian, the South Sea, and remote 
Micronesian. Not much is known of these 
islands beyond the discoveries made by mis- 
sionaries. They have given us about all the 
geographical knowledge we have of them, of 
their mountains and volcanoes, productions 
and inhabitants, climate and soil, as we shall 
soon show. The same is true of the Mar- 
quesas Group, of the Friendly and Society 
Islands, and of those distant western isles, 
away in the meridian where longitude com- 
mences, and west becomes east. The islands 
of the Pacific, that once seemed almost out of 
the world, have now a special importance and 
proximity to us, as being upon the great 



THE ABORIGINES. 265 

highway of the nations. All accurate knowl- 
edge with respect to them and their inhab- 
itants, is of special value to the civilized 
world, particularly to us. 

Missionary operations, under different 
Boards, have been carried on among the 
aborigines of this continent, both east and 
west of the Rockv Mountains. The knowl- 
edge thus obtained of the territory occupied 
by these Indians, has been of the greatest 
value to the white settlers that have occupied 
their lands, as the tribes have receded by con- 
quest or treaty to new territories. It has 
been of use to the government, a^ also in 
the management of our Indian affairs. The 
knowledge gained of our western frontier, of 
its rivers, mountains and prairies, and of the 
character of the red men that once possessed 
them, and obtained their scanty living from 
them, enters into our early records and 
archives. It is a valuable contribution to 
geographical, as well as to other knowledge. 

I have but indicated these facts, but enough 



266 THESE FOR THOSE. 

has been said to show that in the field 
of knowledge relating to geography, with 
kindred topics, our foreign missionaries have 
been of great service to the civilized and 
scientific world. 

Very much of this kind of knowledge, 
communicated by foreign missionaries, has 
been given out orally, or in unpublished 
letters and writings. It has not been em- 
bodied always in scientific treatises, so that 
reference cannot be made to it in definite 
form in all cases. And yet it has value. 
It enlightens the public mind. It is widely 
diffusecL and enters into the staple of the 
public thinking and of popular knowledge. 
And yet very much of it is in a tangible and 
useful form in our public libraries. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

FURTHER CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE, 

Thanks of Herschel to our Missionary — Silli- 
man's Journal — Reference to Champion — Tes- 
timony OF COLBURN — WlNSLOWS. 



«- HE simple facts of science that seem 
of little value to the casual reader, 
often are of the greatest value to sci- 
entific men. The history of comparative 
botany, geology and mineralogy dates back 
to the missionary era. It would take vol- 
umes to embody the facts brought out to 
notice from this source. Meteorology and 
experimental astronomy are greatly indebted 
to observations made on missionary ground. 
I have seen a letter from the celebrated 
astronomer, Herschel, expressing thanks to 



268 THESE FOR THOSE. 

a missionary in Persia, Rev. D. T. Stoddard, 
for important meteorological discoveries. He 
pledged to Mr. Stoddard a vote of thanks 
from the Royal Society. 

We have, mSillimarts Journal, a. descrip- 
tion of a collection of geological specimens 
from Egypt and Syria, presented by a mis- 
sionary at Beirut. The same journal speaks 
of collections of rare and hitherto unknown 
minerals forwarded by a missionary in Greece. 

The lamented Champion wrote an article 
in that journal, of great valne, upon the bot- 
any and geology of the region around the 
Cape of Good Hope. This journal speaks 
of a large collection of bones sent by a mis- 
sionary in New Zealand to a geologist in New 
England. Some of these were remains of 
gigantic birds, which are supposed to have 
flown in the air and waded in the waters of 
the pre-adamic earth. Most of these bones 
belong to extinct species of animals, hitherto 
unknown to scientific men. This missionary 
gives an account, also, of the general geo- 
logical aspect of New Zealand. 



CARL BITTER. 269 

Our knowledge of the Esquimaux of the 
North, and the native Greenlanders, is de- 
rived mostly from the early Moravian mis- 
sionaries. Says Colburn, in a most interest- 
ing paper upon this subject, "But for re- 
searches of missionaries, the whole penin- 
sula of Farther India would be in great part 
a terra incognita" Gobat, Krapf, Izenberg, 
and Redmann have increased our knowledge 
of Abyssinia and the more southern coun- 
tries of Asia. 

CarlEitter, the prince of geographers, who, 
as he acknowledges, could not have written 
those vast works like the Erdkunde, if it had 
not been for foreign missions, says : M Their 
communications, diffused through essays, 
quarterlies and various other publications, 
taking wings in the way of illustrations, by 
orators and historians, in imagery used by 
poets and literary writers, have become a 
part of the world's knowledge. The psy- 
chologist thus determines conditions under 
which the mind can develop the strange 



270 THESE FOR THOSE. 

notions prevalent among the nations : the 
ethnologist discovers in these facts how to 
account for the changes wrought in the type 
of different races by change of circumstance, 
climate and condition." 

In the department of archaeology and of 
antiquity, as connected with monuments, 
hieroglyphics and inscriptions found in 
exhumed cities, missionaries have rendered 
essential service to literature. In one of the 
halls of Bowdoin College are large slabs from 
the ruins of Nineveh, furnished by a late 
missionary at Mosul, Eev. II. B. Haskell, 
M. D., covered with inscriptions in the 
strange language (Assyrian) spoken at an 
early period in the East. Some of these in- 
scriptions are of use in a historical point of 
view, others as confirming the truth of Scrip- 
ture. Some of them are valuable as identi- 
fying localities, — and all of them in showing 
the state of the language, customs and man- 
ners of these people when such mystic 
records were made. 



MISSIONARY WORKS. 271 

Eev. Miron Winslow, long a missionary in 
India, prepared the great Tamil and English 
dictionary, Eev. Dr. Spaulding, of Ceylon, 
compiled an English and Tamil dictionary. 
Dr. Mullens, in his work on the Vedas, opens 
to the English scholar the learning and re- 
ligion contained in the Hindoo Shasters. 
The original Sanscrit in which those Shasters 
were written, embodying their false notions 
of astronomy, geography and science gen- 
erally, they have translated into English, 
with much of the beautiful poetry in the old 
Hindoo literature. These works, in which 
Burgess had a useful part, have enriched our 
literature, and widened the field of curious 
knowledge. The translation of the Hindoo 
books of astronomy by the Eev. Mr. Hois- 
ington, missionary in India, has value in 
scientific circles, as showing the curious 
methods of the orientals in solving mathe- 
matical and astronomical problems. 

The works above alluded to, with that 
of Mr. Ward, a Baptist missionary in India, 



272 THESE FOR THOSE. 

are found in our best college libraries, and 
have become a part of our permanent litera- 
ture. 

In the department of philology, to which 
reference has been made, valuable helps 
have come from missionaries. Mr. Bryant, 
late missionary in South Africa, had an 
article in the "Journal of the American 
Oriental Society," upon the Zulu language. 
There is another from Eev. L. Grout upon 
the languages of South Africa; another 
from Mr. Wilson of the Gaboon, upon the 
languages of Western Africa. These papers 
have value in the light they throw upon com- 
parative philology. They go into the origin 
of the tribes, points of resemblance and differ- 
ence, discuss the effect of habit, climate and 
other causes upon tribal development and 
difference. They show where, when and 
how they came to diverge. "There is a 
great field of time which may be properly 
called the ante-historic period," says Col- 
burn, "and it is the province of ethnology 



VALUABLE PAPERS. 273 

to follow indications afforded by' accumu- 
lated facts from observation and science, 
into this dark realm where both history and 
tradition are silent. The study of the San- 
scrit, in connection with other languages, 
has shown conclusively that the Grecian, 
Germanic and Scandinavian peoples belong 
to the same family with the early possessors 
of India; and a comparison of words, in 
their variations from the ground-forms, 
shows the relative periods when these tribes 
separated from the parent stock. The 
museums connected with the different mis- 
sionary rooms and elsewhere are in them- 
selves an encyclopedia of instruction upon 
the arts and customs of savage nations." 

Examine the collections found in the 
museums of our Colleges and Theological 
Seminaries, and you will find that they 
are furnished in large part by foreign mis- 
sionaries, thus enriching greatly the sciences 
of mineralogy, zoology, geology, botany, 
conchology, metallurgy and the like. 

18 ■ 



274 THESE FOR THOSE. 

At the different missionary stations abroad, 
as was indicated, accurate meteorological ta- 
bles are kept, recording the observations made 
regularly every day for a considerable period 
of time, which gives essential aid to general 
science. 

Our missionaries in the Pacific are thought 
to have demonstrated that those thousands 
of islands were once settled by men of a 
common origin. So the original seed, or 
parent stock, is satisfactorily ascertained. 
How came they to this result ? By reducing 
those many languages to form, and bringing 
them within the range of philosophical inves- 
tigation and classification. 

The Ethnological Society in New York 
rarely holds a meeting when papers from 
missionaries on this topic are not read. At 
one meeting, a fourth part of the time, it is 
said, was thus taken up. At another, half a 
dozen documents were reported from foreign 
missionaries. 

w Missionaries have furnished the means," 



DIFFERENT TONGUES* . 275 

says one, "that enable the German in his 
closet to compare more than two hundred 
languages with one another. He has at his 
command the almost unpronounceable words 
in which Eliot preached, the monosyllables 
of China, the lordly Sanscrit, the multifari- 
ous dialects of modern India, the smooth 
languages of the South Sea Islands, musical 
dialects of the AlH can tribes, and harsh 
gutturals of the American Indians, and of 
various other orieutal peoples. With such 
materials at hand, he can trace out the gen- 
eral law that underlies all languages, as well 
as point out the specific principles in each." 
"In the poetry and philosophy of those 
far-off periods, may be seen the ideas that 
are brought forth with so much blowing of 
trumpets in our day. They were as familiar 
as household words to men who lived before 
Agamemnon, and who grappled with the 
gigantic conceptions of oriental antiquity. 
The sickly sentimentalism or pale pantheism 
of an Emerson and those who ape him, is but 



276 THESE FOR THOSE. 

as the varnished playthings of a child beside 
the somber majesty of the pyramids, when 
compared with the stern, stately, terrible 
pantheism of Sanscrit philosophy," into the 
secrets of which our Christian teachers of 
India have led us, and the folly of which 
have helped to demonstrate. 



CHAPTER XVm. 

DISCOVERIES IN THE SANDWICH ISLANDS BY 
MISSIONARIES. 

The High and Low Islands — Prof. Silliman — 
Records from his Journal — Cape of Good 
Hope — Rev. D. T. Stoddard — Dr. Smith — 
Dr. Beadle — Dr. Wolcott. 

HE Sandwich Islands, it is now well 
kjiown, are of volcanic origin. The 
same is probably true of all the ele- 
vated islands of the Pacific Ocean. In fact, 
the islands of that great expanse of waters, 
covering nearly half the globe, have their 
origin either from the force of volcanic fires 
lifting them up from the deep, or in the 
action of the zoophytes building them up 
slowly from the same. The latter class of 
islands in the central Pacific, called the Low 




278 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Islands, constructed by these little coral 
architects, raise themselves but a few feet 
above the level of the sea. 

The true theory of the coral islands has been 
furnished or corroborated to the scientific 
world by the observation of missionaries. 
Coan, the Gulicks and others have been 
eyes in the far-off seas to scientific men in 
our own land, such as Agassiz, Dana, Silli- 
man, the Hitchcocks and others. They have 
helped to corroborate and demonstrate the 
true theory concerning the structure of 
these Low Islands, that are but tombstones 
of sunken volcanic islands. Depressions of 
the earth beneath the ocean had brought 
these once elevated islands gradually below 
the surface. But as the subsidence slowly 
went on, the little coral workers upon the 
reefs around kept at their business, build- 
ing up nearly to a level with the water as the 
island was gradually settling, — their prog- 
ress upward keeping pace with the progress 
of the mountain downward, till the latter was 
totally submerged ; (or the theory of a growth 



THE OUT OF THE ISLANDS. 279 

may better suit the facts.) A slight subse- 
quent elevation perhaps brought this won- 
derful zoophyte masonry above the waters. 
Within this vast circle is a lake or lagoon 
nearly encompassed by this new formation 
of coral substance. This is softened by the 
action of the elements into the qualities of 
earth or soil, and this encircling land is 
styled an atoll. 

These investigations have been very thor- 
ough and extensive, and have been received 
with proper recognition and enthusiasm by 
the scientific world. 

Another class of the Pacific islands had 
shared a better fate. They are their own 
monuments still. They signalize not the 
sinking of mountains by a subsidence of the 
earth, but the primitive upheavals by action 
of central fires. Their story is told by the 
crater, not by the lagoon. Extinguished fires, 
ever and anon bursting up through cinders 
and ashes, instead of the calm sea within that 
listens to the thunder of the outside ocean, 



280 THESE FOR THOSE 

mark the history of the larger islands of the 
Pacific. 

The reader will find in Sillimarts Journal l 
a graphic notice of the volcanic phenomena 
of the "Bland" of Hawaii. It is in a letter 
to Prof. Silliman from one of onr mission- 
aries. He speaks of various phenomena con- 
nected with that volcano and its eruptions, 
as of other important observations made in 
the Island. (See extract made in the Journal 
from a tour around Hawaii.) 

The same journal has a letter from Rev. 
Joseph Goodrich, — dated April 20, 1825, — 
which gives the earliest information of the 
Volcano Mouna Loa on the Island of Hawaii. 
The eminent Professor savs : " The whole 
article is a telling tribute to the zeal and 
value of the missionary enterprise." 

Rev. Charles S. Stewart, formerly mis- 
sionary at Hawaii, gives an interesting 
account of the volcano of Kilauea. The 
notice is too long to be used here. 9 

"Vol. xi. 1826. 

2 See Dana's Kept, of Geology of the Pacific. Sill. 
Jour. Vol. xi. p. 362. 



DR. BINGHAM. 281 

In another number of same journal there 
is a report on the minerals and rocks of the 
Sandwich Islands. These notes are illus- 
trations of his former papers, and are a 
valuable contribution to mineralogy and 
geology. 

From the same journal we have papers by 
Stewart and Goodrich, giving valuable in- 
formation with regard to the Hawaiian 
volcanoes generally. These papers report 
careful observations on the moral and civil 
progress of the inhabitants of the islands. 

Mr. G. afterwards made a contribution to 
Yale College of a collection of specimens, 
gathered from the Sandwich Island volca- 
noes. They are among the rare curiosities of 
the College Cabinet at the present time. 

Eev. Mr. Bingham, in a* communication 
to the above journal, describes the fall of 
the meteorite Sept. 27, 1825, near Honolulu. 
The editor of the Journal acknowledges his 
indebtedness to Mr. Bingham for five speci- 
mens of this fall. 



282 THESE FOR THOSE. 

The valuable work of Ellis and Thurston 
on Polynesia is well known to the scientific 
world, and bears striking testimony to the 
intelligent industry of these missionaries in 
the service of sound learning. Prof. Silli- 
man declared that " it would be impossible 
for the historian of the islands of the Pacific 
to ignore the important contributions of 
American missionaries to the departments 
of science." 

Eev. Titus Coan, of the Sandwich Island 
mission, has long been the faithful reporter 
of the volcanic phenomena of that remarkable 
region. His letters to the American Jour- 
nal of Science, written in his own free and 
graphic style, with abundant and valuable 
illustrations, cover a period of thirty years. 

The reader will find in the same journal 
an extended paper on the topograph}^ and 
geology of the vicinity of Cape of Good 
Hope, written by Eev. George Champion, 
before alluded to, a man of remarkable men- 
tal and Christian culture. He gave the 



REV. MR. STODDARD. 283 

whole of his large fortune to the American 
Board, and with it himself, to go to one of 
the hardest missionary fields in the world. 
It was comparatively little that he lived to 
accomplish in one point of view, for his 
career was brief. It was brief, but brilliant 
in the light shed upon science and knowl- 
edge, and illustrations given of Christian 
consecration. 

Important contributions to natural history, 
especially of the African gorilla, have been 
sent to Boston. Among these contributors 
is the Rev. Mr. Savage, of the Gaboon 
mission. 

I have referred to Rev. David T. Stoddard 
of the Nestorian mission in Persia. He 
diligently cultivated his scientific tastes 
while abroad. He kept his health and buoy- 
ancy by the sharp watch he kept of every 
thing that touched the heavens or beautified 
the earth. The auroras as seen in those clear 
skies, had to pay tribute to him. The mete- 
oric showers made their contributions to his 



284 THESE FOB THOSE. 

observations. The planets and stars seemed 
attracted by his fine telescope. The milky 
way broke into atoms as pierced by it. The 
stars never twinkled above the forty-fifth 
degree to his clear eye. He was a watchman 
quick to penetrate the skies for the men of 
science in Europe and America. 

Nor was the late Dr. Perkins, of the same 
mission for thirty-six years, idle in the de- 
partment of science and learning. " He has 
been an industrious collector of facts and 
specimens, illustrative of science and anti- 
quarian knowledge." 1 

Dr. Azariah Smith, missionary at Aintab 
and elsewhere, was by taste and education a 
man of science. Prof. Silliman says, " He did 
much to promote our knowledge by his ac- 
curate habits of observation and description 
of what he saw. Besides the whole curricu- 
lum of theological study in its most thorough 
manner, he devoted himself to medical and 
surgical pursuits, and with such zeal as to 

^rof. Hitchcock. 



DR. BEADLE. 285 

make himself a most skillful physician. He 
studied those parts of the common law, also 
of the civil and international law, which he 
considered to be useful. Natural history and 
general science, including astronomy and 
meteorology, were carefully, even zealously, 
pursued by him." Dr. Smith published in 
the American Journal of Science, Vol. 39, 
p. 134, On Electricity. Vol. 49, p. 113, on 
the Ruins of Nineveh. Vol. 2, p. 72, Ther- 
mometrical Observations in Western Asia. 
Vol. 5, pp. 141 and 297, Additional Notices 
of Nineveh. See also papers in the Mission- 
ary Herald, Vols. 47 and 48. 

The Rev. E. R. Beadle, D. D., formerly 
missionary of Beirut, now pastor of a Pres- 
byterian Church in Philadelphia, was a 
zealous naturalist. "To him," says Prof. 
Silliman, "we were early indebted for valu- 
able contributions from Mt. Lebanon." He 
refers to another missionary, name not given, 
to whom he was indebted for his early 
knowledge of the basaltic columns of the 



286 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Columbia River, and for many other geo- 
graphical facts that had fallen under his 
critical notice. 

Prof. Hitchcock of Amherst College says : 

/ "There is hardly a single one of the seventy 

missionaries that have gone out from this 

Institution, that has failed to furnish us with 

\ some scientific and literary matter. 

"There are thousands of specimens of 
rocks, minerals, fossils, and fragments of 
historic association, that lie as cherished 
treasures in our cabinets and public libraries. 

"And in specimens of pressed animals, 
our collections are equally rich from the 
same sources. Birds, quadrupeds and insects 
adorn our shelves, that no money could have 
secured. 

"Rev. W. Walker, of the Gaboon mis- 
sion, in Western Africa, sent us a full-sized 
gorilla, one of the most perfect specimens 
of the kind in the country. 

"Rev. Dr. Van Lennep and Rev. Story 
Hebard furnished valuable aid in making 
some papers on the geology of Palestine. 



DR. WOLCOTT. 287 

"Rev. Ebenezer Burgess read a paper 
before the American Association of Science, 
on the geology of India and the Cape of 
Good Hope. 

"Dr. Justin Perkins accomplished still 
more, probably, in determining the geology 
of Persia, by furnishing specimens and facts 
to my predecessor." 

Rev. Dr. Wolcott, now of Cleveland, 
Ohio, made some original investigations in 
the Holy Land, which were communicated 
to Dr. Eobinson, who published an account 
of them in the Bib. Sacra, 1843. Carl 
Ritter, in his great work, M Geography of 
Palestine," refers to those observations 
scores of times, with very kind allusions. 

Dr. Wolcott discovered an ancient subter- 
ranean passage, large and vaulted, under the 
Mosque el Aksa, and effected an entrance 
into it, afterward introducing Mr. Tipping, 
an English artist, who took several fine 
drawings of it. It is said to be one of the 
most impressive and interesting relics of the 
ancient city. 



288 THEdE FOR THOSE. 

Dr. Hackett, Smith's Bible Diet. 24-28, 
Art. "Dragon's Well," refers to explorations, 
made by Mr. Wolcott by night, of excavated 
chambers connected with a deep well near 
the harem. These subterranean wonders, 
which Barclay and others have since 
attempted to explore, are still a part of sub 
terra incognita. Our missionary was the 
first to risk a careful exploration. 

The same work makes particular reference 
to the discovery of the aqueduct from Solo- 
mon's pools, by which water was brought to 
the temple : a matter of curious interest, 
relating to antiquity, and particularly to that 
building of which God was the architect. 

In an excursion from Jerusalem to Hebron, 
Dr. Wolcott discovered and identified the 
ancient valley of Berachah, in iSie modern 
Wady Bereikut. This brother discovered 
and identified the ancient castle Bethzur in 
the modern ruins of Beitsur. The same dis- 
covered and identified the ancient Jewish 
town of Beth-anoth, in the ruins of mod- 
ern Beit Ainum. 



DR. WOLCOTT 289 

Messrs. Wolcott and Tipping were the 
first to visit and identify the remarkable 
ruins of the modern Sebbeh, and confirm the 
theory of Robinson and Smith, who had only 
seen these ruins at a distance, that Sebbeh 
was the ancient Jewish fortress of Masada. 1 

In a journey from Jerusalem to Beirut, 
between Nabulus and Nazareth, Mr. Wolcott 
discovered and identified the ancient Capar- 
cotia in the modern Kefr Kud. Carl Ratter's 
Geog. IV. 329. The great geographer, 
Ritter, refers to the visit of our missionary 
to the ancient Megiddo, on the western bor- 
der of the Plains of Esdraelon, where he 
examined and described the remains, and 
confirmed the theory of Robinson and Smith. 

In his missionary tour, Dr. Wolcott at- 
tempted a route through the interior, from 
Tiberias to Sidon, which had never been 
traveled by modern tourists. This region 
had not been known to modern travelers till 
the tour of Mr. Wolcott. He took obser- 



^ib. Diet. (Hackett), Art. " Masada," 62-66. 
19 



290 THESE FOR THOSE. 

vations of Mt. Lebanon from points whence 
it had not before been noted, and was the 
first to make records of its double summit. 
Robinson refers to this fact as explaining the 
use of the plural, Uermons. Ps. 42 : 6. 1 

In Bib. Sac. Oct., 1866, and Jan., 1867, 
on "The Topography of Jerusalem," Dr. 
Wolcott disposes of the theory which Mr. 
Furguson, an English architect, had ad- 
vanced respecting the identity of Zion and 
Moriah ; also the Mosque of Omar and the 
Church of the Holy Sepulcher. In Bib. Sac. 
Jan., 1868, in an Art. of forty pages on 
"The Site of Sodom," Wolcott refutes the 
theory which Mr. Grove had advanced, to 
which others had given their assent, that the 
Cities of the Plain lay north of the Dead 
Sea. In an article of thirteen pages on " The 
Land of Moriah," this writer answers the 
theory which Dean Stanley started in 
modern times, and more remote writers had 
advocated, — in which an attempt is made to 
identify Moriah with Gerizim. 

1 Bib. Sacra ; also Hitter's Geog. II. 163, 164. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

TESTIMONY OF SCIENTIFIC MEN CONTINUED. 

pres. of the american oriental society — balbi — 
Harris — Dr. Wilson — Dr. Anderson — Prof. 
Agassiz — Carl Eitter — Prof. Peabody — Drs. 
Smith, Dwight, Perkins and Thompson — Clos- 
ing Observations. 




N the Inaugural Address of Dr. John 
Pickering, first President of the 
American Oriental Society, it is ob- 
served : " Our missionary establishments are 
more active than those of any other nation, 
particularly in relation to the languages 
and literature of different countries, and I 
believe we may, without fear of contradic- 
tion, state as a fact, that among our mis- 
sionaries we have a greater number of pro- 
ficients in the various languages of the East 



292 THESE FOR THOSE. 

and other parts of the world, than are to 
be found among the missionaries of any 
other nation." 

Appended to this address there are brief 
statements respecting the operations of the 
American Societies and their missionaries, 
of which Dr. Pickering remarks : " They 
will abundantly justify the views taken of 
their extent and importance in the cause of 
learning alone, without any reference to a 
higher motive, which originally prompted 
these efforts of a Christian community to 
benefit their fellow men." 

Prof. W. D. Whitney of Yale College, and 
Secretary of the American Oriental Society, 
says : w I have a strong realization of the 
value of missionary labor to science. The 
Oriental Society, which has been in no small 
measure the medium through which the re- 
sult of such labors on the part of American 
missionaries have been given to the world, 
has been much dependent on them for its use- 
fulness and importance. There would hardly 



PROF. WHITNEY. 293 

be occasion for an American Oriental Society 
at all, but for them, — so few are there in 
this country who are devoted to Oriental 
studies. They are worthily engaged in 
advancing the work of their predecessors, 
those missionaries by whom the ancient 
world was converted to Christianity. 

"The students of the ancient languages 
and literatures well know what are their 
obligations to those devoted men. Religion, 
commerce and scientific zeal are the three 
instrumentalities now rivaling one another 
in bringing new regions and peoples to light, 
and in uncovering the long buried remains of 
others, lost or decayed; and of the three, the 
first is still the most pervading and effective. 

"As regards our American missionaries 
in particular, I have heard the manager of 
one of the great Oriental Societies abroad 
speak with admiration of the learning, good 
sense and enterprise which their labors 
disclose, and lament that the men of his own 
people were so decidedly their inferiors. 



294 THESE FOR THOSE. 

In examining the volumes of the American 
Oriental Society, I was astonished to find 
that in the first five, in octavo form, more 
than a thousand closely printed pages had 
been contributed by foreign missionaries, 
showing their industry in the direction of 
science and literature. 

Rev. Lewis Grout, for twenty years a 
missionary of the Board in Africa, has 
written a volume entitled "Zulu Land," pages 
351. In this we have the early history of 
Natal and adjacent regions, their geograph- 
ical features, the origin and relation of the 
Zulu Kaffir and other African tribes, their 
government, superstitions, literature, and 
language, — geological features, botanical 
productions, and much pertaining to the 
natural history of the country. The New 
Englander says : " We have evidence that 
the book has the accuracy of a photograph." 
The North American Review regards the 
volume as an important contribution to 
the religious and the political history of 
the times. 



BALBI AND HARRIS. 295 

Balbi, the great encyclopaedist, is enthusi- 
astic in his praise of missionary adventure 
and' discovery. He says : "Numerous mate- 
rials for the comparison of languages have 
been collected at various times. In this 
field, along with many other useful laborers, 
the ministers of Christianity have occupied 
the first rank. To the zeal of the Mora- 
vians, Baptists and other Protestant mission- 
aries, the ethnography that classifies men 
owes its acquaintance with so many nations 
— hitherto unknown — in India and other 
regions of Asia, in various parts of America 
and Oceanica, along with the translation of 
the Bible, in whole or in part, into so many 
different languages." 

Harris, author of Mammon, says: "The 
Christian researches of Buchanan in India, 
and of Jowett in the Mediterranean, Syria, 
and the Holy Land, the journals of Heber, 
the biographies of Martyn, Hall, Turner, 
Thomason, Brown and others, the periodical 
account of the Serampore Brethren, and 



296 THESE FOR THOSE. 

the reports of our missionary institutions, 
are of great value to the historian and the 
naturalist." 

Dr. J. L. Wilson, who labored nearly 
twenty years as a missionary in Western 
Africa, published the result of his inquiries 
and observations in a useful volume in 
duodecimo form. It is a standard work of 
its kind. 

Dr. D. O. Allen labored twenty-five years 
as a missionary in India, and gave in a 
volume of more than six hundred octavo 
pages, a faithful description of the country, 
ancient and modern. The volume has great 
value in a historical and scientific point of 
view, as well as being a faithful missionary 
record. 

Dr. Anderson says : " Williams's Middle 
Kingdom, in twelve hundred pages, is prob- 
ably the best account ever published of the 
Chinese empire, as it had been and was 
in 1848." 

Prof. Agassiz, referring to the fact that 



MISSIONARY HERALD. 297 

a missionary in Asia had just promised 
to send him specimens of fish, says : " Few 
are aware how much we owe the mission- 
aries, both for their intelligent observation 
of facts, and their collecting of specimens. 
We must look to them not a little for aid 
in our effort to advance future science." 

Carl Bitter, in his recent work on Pales- 
tine, says : " The Missionary Herald is 
where the reader must look to find the most 
valuable and instructive documents that have 
been sent home by the agents of any society, 
and where a rich store of scientific, histor- 
ical, and antiquarian details may be seen." 

The Herald is a medium through which 
a great amount of scientific knowledge goes 
into Christian and popular reading. Scien- 
tific journals quote freely from this publica- 
tion. It thus enlarges the domains of useful 
knowledge. These missionary journals are 
at the bottom of a large part of that multi- 
farious knowledge which permits the present 
age to call itself the age of intelligence." 



298 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Prof. Andrew P. Peabody, of Harvard 
College, a distinguished scholar, and a firm 
friend of the missionary cause, speaking of 
the Herald, and of the communications 
of the missionaries, says: "If we were to 
leave out of thought its prime purpose of 
enkindling and sustaining zeal in the great 
work of evangelizing the world, and regard 
the Missionary Herald solely as a journal for 
the dissemination of knowledge and the ad- 
vancement of learning, it would easily hold the 
first place among the periodicals of the age." 

Says another, who has made the sciences 
a specialty : w The contributions of our 
missionaries to the different departments of 
science are almost endless. These are 
mainly in definite and accurate details, 
filling up the bolder outlines that others 
have traced. Very much of the value of 
their labor in this direction consists in the 
accuracy and reliableness of their representa- 
tions, in contrast with the marvels and crudi- 
ties of other irresponsible explorers." 



DB. ANDERSON- 299 

Speaking of the value of the Herald in 
these respects, Dr. Anderson, for many 
years Foreign Secretary of the Board, bears 
this testimony : " The details show by what 
efforts men of diverse characters and ge- 
nius succeeded or failed in first gaining the 
confidence of communities as diverse as 
themselves ; in awakening the desire for 
improvement, and securing interested atten- 
tion to new ideas of human life and des- 
tiny; the multifarious workings of mind, 
when imbruted by heathenism, or when mis- 
led by a corrupt Christianity, both in 
seeking and resisting Christian truth ; the 
action of hierarchies and governments, half 
civilized and uncivilized, when disturbed by 
the advance of light into their dominions ; 
how schools, where schools were wanting or 
worthless, have been started, conducted, 
modified according to circumstances, multi- 
plied and made to grow into systems of 
popular education, leading on to the estab- 
lishment of higher institutions, — literary, 



300 THESE FOR THOSE. 

scientific and professional ; the Christian 
experience of individual converts, showing 
the inward struggles through which a multi- 
tude of minds, of various character and 
condition, have attained to the intelligent 
and cordial reception of Christian truth, 
and resulting transformations of character ; 
the planting and training of churches in 
forms varying as the exigencies of each 
required, and their various degrees of 
success ; the influence of advancing Christian 
light and morality on the action of govern- 
ments, even to the extent of their peaceful 
reconstructions in better forms and on better 
principles ; the transformation of society, 
by the gradual adoption of the industry, 
commerce, arts, comforts, and decencies of 
civilized Christian life. The men and 
women by whose labors all these things have 
been done, have so described them from day 
to day as they occurred, that the Christian 
world might understand, appreciate and 
sustain their labors ; and that minds com- 



MEMORIAL VOLUME. 301 

petent to the task might suggest every 
possible improvement in the modes of con- 
ducting them. These accounts, either in the 
words of their authors, or carefully and 
skillfully condensed, fill the greater part of 
these thirty-nine octavo volumes : forming a 
library which has been and is now studied 
with intense interest, not only by the prince 
of geographers, Carl Bitter, and other liter- 
ary and scientific men, but by statesmen of 
the highest order of intellect, who have no 
sympathy with its religious spirit." 

The History of the American Board, writ- 
ten by Dr. J. Tracy, in 1842, was compiled 
chiefly from published and unpublished doc- 
uments in his hands at the time. It is an 
invaluable contribution, not only to mis- 
sionary literature, but to general knowledge 
and learning. 

Dr. Anderson published, in 1862, The 
Memorial Volume, which is a condensed 
summary of the most valuable knowledge 
relating to the great missionary prog- 



302 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ress of the last half-century. It is the 
record of an enterprise that undertook the 
work of Christian civilization in heathen and 
half-civilized nations. As a memorial work, 
it has hardly an equal in point of style, and 
in the subject-matter treated. 

More recently this author published a 
volume entitled "The Hawaiian Islands," soon 
after he had journeyed over those islands. 
This book, though it treats mainly of mis- 
sionary matters, goes into the general and 
natural history of the islands, giving a de- 
scription of the people, their origin, habits, 
and improvement ; also of the islands as 
such, their physical features and peculiarities 
so interesting to scientific readers. 

This book, in connection with one pub- 
lished by his daughter, Mrs. Street, of Wis- 
casset, Me., who accompanied the Doctor on 
that tour, and saw with even a more curious 
and aesthetic eye than the father himself, to- 
gether with Dibble's " History," and Bingham's 
" Twenty-one years as a Missionary " at the 



SMITH AND D WIGHT. 303 

islands, gives a graphic as well as exhaustive 
history of those interesting lands.* 

Just after the Grecian independence had 
been achieved in 1829, the Greek Islands 
were visited by Dr. Anderson and Eli Smith, 
one of the missionaries in Turkey. Dr. A., 
on his return, published a volume, which 
received honorable notice from the Royal 
Geographical Society in London, as a valu- 
able and much needed contribution to geo- 
graphical science. 

Soon after, in 1833, Rev. Messrs. Smith 
and Dwight made a general tour of explo- 
ration through Asia Minor, including Arme- 
nia, and into Georgia and Persia, with a visit 
to the Nestorians. It was published in two 
volumes. It was reprinted in London, and 
highly commended in some of the leading 
English Reviews. 

In this connection I will speak of a vol- 
ume entitled, " Residence of eight years in 
Persia among the Nestorians and Moham- 
medans," in more than five hundred octavo 



304 THESE FOR THOSE. 

pages, by Dr. Perkins. This book has the 
appearance of having been written by one 
who held not only a graceful pen, but saw 
with a critical and aesthetic eye. 

The periodicals of our missionary Boards, 
diffused over the country generally, are 
replete with the records of travels, observa- 
tions and discoveries of missionaries. They 
become a sort of circulating library of his- 
torical facts and scientific knowledge for the 
masses of the people. 

Till recently, art and science had trav- 
ersed but few fields. Now they have gathered 
the wealth of the world. But who have 
been the largest contributors to this wealth ? 
Who have been the most diligent explorers 
to obtain accurate knowledge of the nations ? 
It is those who have gone to preach the 
gospel to the heathen. As successful ex- 
plorers and discoverers in fields covering 
scarcely less than half the globe, there is no 
class of men that outrank foreign mission- 
aries. Their high motive has urged them 



DEBT TO MISSIONS. 305 

on. We owe more to missionary adventure 
and discovery for the knowledge we have of 
this world, its peoples, their thinking and 
habits, than perhaps to any other source. So 
far as foreign missions in these ways have 
tended to guide popular thought, to give 
breadth to knowledge, and to enlarge the 
treasures of science, they have done a ser- 
vice to mankind which money could not 
repay. 

20 



TOPIC VI. 

OUR INDEBTEDNESS TO MISSIONS 
AS CHURCHES AND CHRISTIANS. 



/ 



CHAPTER XX. 

EFFECT OF FOREIGN MISSIONS ON CHRISTIAN 
THEOLOGY. 

Spiritual Nature of Missions — Discriminations — 
Importance op their Aid — Illustration op 
their Achievements — How these epfect Men's 
Reasoning and Estimation of Christianity. 



lOEEIGN missions are primarily 
for the heathen ; they are profit- 
able to them principally; but are 
profitable likewise to those engaged in 
them at home. This fact we have at- 
tempted to show in several distinct 
Topics. We are now to show that foreign 
missions have been profitable to us as 
Christians and churches. They have been 
a blessing to the denominations that have 
been engaged in them. Their influence has 
been felt on Christian character and culture, 




310 THESE FOR THOSE. 

in promoting growth in grace, religious 
development and personal holiness. 

The impression has prevailed to some 
extent that foreign missions are of use only 
to the heathen ; that they are an almost 
unrelieved burden to the Christian world ; 
a draft upon their prosperity and patience 
even. But this is not true ; and it is high 
time that this notion, and such disparagement 
of the noblest work of the age, be removed. 
The work of missions is profitable to us 
as Christians and Churches every way. 
They are a privilege to the Christian world, 
as well as a blessing to the heathen world. 
They are not a loss, an outset, a burden, but 
are a gain to us, both in temporal and 
spiritual things. There are no gains, in- 
deed, so much to be coveted as spiritual 
gains, and there are no losses so much to 
be deprecated as spiritual losses. 

The good gotten from foreign missions 
by those engaged in them is incidental and 
reflexive, but none the less real and useful 



DISINTERESTED WORK, 311 

on that account. Such is the order of things 
in the divine economy, that blessings im- 
parted are reactive or retrospective often 
in their influence, and affect the giver 
as well as those upon whom they are 
bestowed. The blessedness of giving and 
doing for Christ's sake is real, is all our own, 
and nothing can take it away from us ; while 
at the same time, the blessing bestowed 
reaches others and still others on to the end 
of time. 

The work of foreign missions is not a 
work carried forward in view of any respec- 
tability, convenience, or profit to those 
engaged in it, as is the case often in efforts 
to support the gospel at home. We go to 
the work of missions for the good they will do 
others, and those whom we have never seen. 
We do not undertake them for personal 
benefit, or because they are supposed to 
benefit our nation or community, as in 
efforts for our own parish or church; we 
support them as a foreign enterprise, for the 



312 THESE FOR THOSE. 

good of those far distant from us, and witk 
no thought of any good to come to us 
in return. The work, in this aspect of it, 
becomes a disinterested work. 

But while this is the grand motive to for- 
eign missions, there are moral benefits and 
compensations that come to us as a conse- 
quence of the work. This refluent influence 
is all the more profitable and significant 
because it is spiritual and pertains to imper- 
ishable things. 

Works of disinterestedness are surest to 
react for good upon the doer. The good 
measure pressed down, shaken together and 
running over, promised to those that 
give, is for those that give disinter- 
estedly; that give the best, and hardest 
to be parted with. There is no giving 
nor doing that is so profitable as the kind 
that excludes self, and necessitates personal 
sacrifice without the hope of personal gain. 
There are no acts nor gifts so precious to 
Christ as those that are intended to save the 



CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. 313 

souls of men. We should expect, then, that 
the best gifts of God, his richest favors, 
would be -for those who do most and suffer 
most to save men, and to save those they 
have never seen. We should expect that the 
work of foreign missions, carried on in 
the spirit of Christian benevolence, would 
strengthen the Church of Christ, and kindle 
to a purer flame the spirit of piety in Chris- 
tian hearts. But to the foundations I 

Look at the bearing of this work on the 
interests of Christian Theology. Missions 
have done much to strengthen the argument 
in favor of Christianity. I affirm their 
profitableness to us spiritually from this 
point of view. This is fundamental. What- 
ever helps to authenticate and establish the 
Christian religion, upon which all good insti- 
tutions and influences rest, is a spiritual 
good ; it is a rational good ; it is a personal 
good. 

No argument in favor of the Christian 
religion is more conclusive than the one 



314 THESE FOE THOSE. 

derived from its achievements in the world. 
Every religious system must bear to be put 
to this test. By their fruits ye shall 
know them. The system that will not stand 
this test of results is a failure, and must be 
set aside. On the other hand, a system that 
benefits the world spiritually and perma- 
nently, is proved to be from God. 

Foreign missions have brought a new 
element of strength to the proofs of Chris- 
tianity as a system. The gospel has been 
tested among the nations on an extended 
scale, and in circumstances the most unpro- 
pitious. It has been tried and proved in 
point of efficacy where peoples were sunk to 
the lowest depths of barbarism. It has 
stood the test where all other influences had 
failed. It has elevated races and peoples 
that nothing else could reach. It has been 
authenticated as divine by the splendor of 
its achievements. It has been tried upon 
the cannibals of the Feejee Islands, upon the 
savages of the Marquesas Group, and with 



CHANGES WROUGHT. 315 

marvelous results. Nowhere on earth, fifty 

years ago, was human nature sunk lower 

than at the Sandwich Islands. More than 

half the children born there were put to 

death in their infancy. Every form of moral 

restraint had been taken off from the people 

on many of the Islands. The Tabus, with 

the cumbersome system of idolatry, had 

been abolished, that the people might be 

more free to indulge in chosen wickedness. 

The intellect and heart had gone to a fearful 

depth of debasement. The vices had been 

multiplied and intensified by contact with 

foreigners, who had visited those islands for 

gain, or had gone there for lawlessness and 

licentiousness. 

And, worst of all, the natives were satis- 
fied with their condition. They did not wish 
for any change. They had no desire to rise 
in the scale of intelligence and morality. 
Consequently there was no human standpoint 
from which to commence the work of elevat- 
ing and civilizing them. They preferred to 



316 THESE FOR THOSE. 

live without God or gods in the world. It 
was paradise to revel in wickedness as their 
ancestors had done. They sought to out- 
rival their ancestors in wicked and abomin- 
able deeds. 

But the gospel came to them. It was 
preached to them in love. It took effect. 
It reached their minds and consciences. 
Its influence began to be great upon the 
people, especially upon those in power. 
There were conversions ; churches were 
formed, and houses of worship were built. 
Men left off their vices, and led Christian 
lives. The language was reduced to form. 
Schools were established. A new aspect 
was put upon the nation. The Spirit came 
down in a marvelous outpouring, and many 
thousands were converted. The seal of 
God's special approval was thus put upon 
the work, and a new seal, too, of great sig- 
nificance, was put upon the truth of Chris- 
tianity that had accomplished the work. 
This change at the islands was of itself a 



PRINCIPLES AND PROOFS. 317 

great good, as measured by its thoroughness 
and extent, the worth of the soul and the 
length of eternity. But we are bound to 
consider the effect of this upon Christian- 
ity itself; not, indeed, as to its principles or 
substance, but with respect to its evidences 
and sanctions in the appreciation of a world 
for which it was established. The principles 
of Christianity are established. It is done 
forever. They are unchangeable, and can 
never be shaken. But it is otherwise with 
the Evidences and development of Christian- 
ity. These change ; these are strengthened 
or weakened according to circumstances, 
successes and reverses. Evidences are rela- 
tive ; principles are absolute. Those are 
affected by circumstances, developments and 
influences ; these are positive, are permanent. 
The evidences of Christianity are thus 
strengthened in the view of reason by dem- 
onstrations of its power and supernatural 
agency in the world. The foreign mission- 
ary work has thus fortified the argument in 



318 THESE FOR THOSE. 

favor of the Christian system. A religious 
system that has served to change gross bar- 
barism and wretchedness into an orderly and 
civilized Christian state, is proved to be 
from God. Next to the miracles of early 
times, these modern achievements of the gos- 
pel demonstrate its divine origin. 

The inductive evidence thus brought out 
in favor of the Christian system, — I mean 
evidences derived from authenticated facts, 
accumulated successes and triumphs under 
such unfavorable circumstances, — is hardly 
less conclusive than the supernatural proofs 
that accompanied its introduction into the 
world. God's voice out of the heavens 
could scarcely be more emphatic and audible 
than his voice among the nations now. The 
power that could roll back the sea, and change 
it into marble, is not more evidently divine, 
or powerfully demonstrated to the world, 
than the power that could roll back this 
ocean of dead heathenism, and put in its 
place a Christian civilization. If he who 



SKEPTICISM BAFFLED. 319 

healed the sick and raised the dead gave 
proof that God was with him and wrought 
by him, so does the missionary, whose words 
of truth raise men and nations that are 
spiritually dead. 

Skepticism finds ways to meet other 
kinds of Christian evidence drawn from 
reason, analogy and Scripture, — but proofs 
brought from facts, or fields of Christian 
conflict and conquest, where the gospel has 
elevated men, raising the family institution 
from ruins, establishing good government 
and equal laws, promoting industry and 
thrift, and putting upon society the crown 
of intelligence and virtue, cannot easily be 
resisted. 

So it is that Christian missions have 
strengthened the evidences of Christianity, 
and added the crowning argument of 
achievement and conquest among the nations 
that were sunk lowest in barbarism. Chris- 
tian theology thus stands on higher ground 
by reason of these successes. It has a 



320 THESE FOR THOSE. 

firmer basis in human belief. Those achieve- 
ments in some parts of the heathen world, 
as in Madagascar, have been of the nature 
of miracle itself, in this matter of positive 
demonstration. These moral miracles are 
really no less conclusive than the miracles 
wrought anciently upon the elements and 
materials of nature. Christ said, if ye be- 
lieve not me, believe the works! I take it 
that he meant spiritual works, not less than 
natural or material works. For those, not 
less than these, were miraculous or super- 
natural, though the nature and ends 
of the miracle were different in the 
two cases. The kind of miracle wrought 
in nature, skeptical philosophy has as- 
sumed to set aside on the ground that it 
is easier to conceive that the human senses 
should be deceived, than ^hat the order of 
nature should be changed. But the order 
of nature has been changed by means of the 
gospel : The order of human nature, corrupt 
nature, in its worst form and developments 



GRAND RESULTS. 321 

of wickedness ! This fact has to be acknowl- 
edged and accounted for. Skepticism can- 
not meet it. This moral miracle has been 
wrought. Let skeptical men account for it. 

This accumulative evidence in favor of 
Christianity is one of the reflex results of 
foreign missions. It is one of the most 
valuable influences that have come in return 
to the Christian world for their efforts. 
It is not easy to estimate the worth of this 
form of proof. Christianity is the highest 
influence for good among the nations ; but 
its value depends on its development and 
demonstrations of power. Its influence is 
augmented by proofs given to the world 
of its regenerating power upon the indi- 
vidual and upon the race. 

The moral condition of this world is 
affected more by this question, touching the 
truth of Christianity, than perhaps by any 
other question. All other problems and 
interests center in this : namely, the authen- 
ticity of the gospel, and its power and 

21 



322 THESE FOR THOSE. 

prevalence in the world. It is Christianity, 
or some form of paganism, that is to prevail 
upon the earth. This latter casts a blight 
upon the nations ; the former sheds a glory 
upon them. We have but to carry the proofs 
of Christianity in this direction or form of 
argument, to a point where skepticism and 
philosophy cannot meet them, to give the 
gospel a vantage ground in the world which 
it has never yet held. It is thus that great 
good has been done. That has been 
strengthened which strengthens every thing 
else ; that has been established which estab- 
lishes every thing else ; that has gotten a 
victory and a glory which gives conquest 
and glory to every thing besides ! 

We labor away at our book demonstra- 
tions to prove the truth of Christianity; 
and all this is very well, so far as it goes. 
We go to Paley, to Edwards, Butler, Hop- 
kins and a host of others, who tell us of 
analogies and adaptations, of predictions ful- 
filled and miracles wrought, to prove the 



COMPARATIVE PROOFS. 323 

truth of Christianity ; and yet, we have need 
to go to the history of Christianity itself, 
its conquests and achievements, to find 
the highest popular demonstration of the 
validity of its claims as a system from God. 
The changes wrought by those few who first 
went forth to the work of Christ among the 
nations, and by those who have gone forth 
to the same work in modern times among 
the Gentiles, are the crowning proofs or 
attestations of the power of the gospel. 
Other proofs are strong and ample for those 
morally disposed to accept them ; but here 
the facts themselves must be set aside in 
order to break the force of proof in favor 
of Christianity. And recent proofs have an 
advantage here. Doubt hangs over the 
distant. Admit that distance sometimes 
lends enchantment. This is true in natural 
scenes, as measured by the human eye ; but 
not in matters of history, as accepted by the 
intellect and the faith. It gives force to the 
evidences of Christianity that its successes 



324 THESE FOR THOSE. 

are recent, and its achievements are being 
multiplied before the eyes of the world. 
It is useful to be able to show men historic 
events and proofs, not only, but passing 
events and proofs ; to show them the records 
of the power of God not merely, but 
patent and positive proofs of that power. 
It is easier to cast doubt upon the remote 
and distant, than upon things that are coming 
to pass every day before our eyes, and are 
identified with the history of our own times. 
What has wrought these wonders among 
the nations ? The gospel preached to them 
by missionaries. What has changed the 
aborigines of our country in so many instan- 
ces, inclining them to civilized life and 
Christian habits? It is the gospel. What 
the vast numbers of Pariahs and Karans of 
India, lifting them from moral wretchedness 
to personal respectability, — to say nothing 
of the thousands in China and Africa, and 
tens of thousands in the Pacific islands, 
that have been made subjects of a moral 



PROOFS STRENGTHENED, 325 

resurrection ? It is foreign missions planted 
by our churches. 

And preachers of the gospel have been 
helped in their work. New arguments have 
been given them to enforce the truth and 
claims of religion. New illustrations of the 
power of the gospel are furnished, and new 
incentives and attractions to embrace it. We 
are able to strike heavier blows at the 
bulwarks of error and sin. These fresh 
proofs challenge attention, and deepen con- 
viction. They appeal to the moral sense 
and the inner heart. 

These new arguments in proof of Chris- 
tianity help the instruction in theological 
schools and colleges. Courses of lectures 
that bring these proofs and arguments to 
view, are being connected with our theolog- 
ical seminaries ; and perhaps the time is 
not distant when the same will be added to 
our college courses and other schools. 

These things are of use, too, in the family, 
in educating children, in forming their relig- 



326 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ious beliefs. Evidences of Christianity that 
set forth the power of the gospel in heathen 
lands, are accompanied often by instructive 
and fascinating narratives. These are not 
only pleasant, but useful auxiliaries to home 
influence and training. They are fitted to 
bring before the minds of children the value 
of the gospel, and the force of its claims 
upon their own hearts. I remember a con- 
versation held some years ago with a talented 
young man, who had been troubled with 
objections against Christianity. He re- 
marked with some feeling and emphasis of 
expression, that the consideration of what the 
Christian religion had accomplished in the 
heathen world, had tended to settle his mind 
upon the subject. His skepticism was under- 
mined, his doubts had ceased to trouble him. 
It is providential that at the time when 
error was coming in like a flood upon our 
land in forms of pantheism, rationalism and 
gross infidelity, the Spirit of the Lord should 
have lifted up a standard against it in these 



REFLEX INFLUENCE. 327 

fresh confirmations of the truth and power 
of Christianity. It is not easy to estimate 
the good that has come to the Christian 
world in this way. It was unlooked for. It 
did not enter into the motives that prompted 
to the work of foreign missions. It is indi- 
rect and incidental, but none the less valu- 
able and powerful because reflexive. It is 
one of the providential blessings that have 
come to the churches in return for Christian 
sacrifice, and in the way of strengthening the 
foundations. 

People are more easily moved to accept a 
system of religion, as proofs in its favor 
are multiplied. Confidence in its truth and 
power is strengthened. The Spirit's work 
in the heart, indeed, will never cease to 
be necessary to induce men to give up their 
sins, and embrace the gospel. But the 
Spirit uses evidence, argument, — illustra- 
tions, even ! And as these accumulate in 
favor of Christianity, saving influences and 
spiritual agencies will be multiplied. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

CHRISTIAN UNION AS AFFECTED BY FOREIGN 
MISSIONS. 

How a United Work affects Christians — Unity 
among Missionaries abroad — Influence of re- 
turned Missionaries on the Churches — The 
Spirit and Power of the Mission Work favor- 
able to Union — Exceptions and Limitations: 

NE of the good things that have 
l^M^ come to us from foreign missions is 
^^ the strengthening of the bond of 
Christian brotherhood in the churches at 
home. This world- work has brought Chris- 
tian hearts and wills nearer together. In 
proportion as the work of Christ and of the 
kingdom has expanded, the hearts engaged 
in that work have been brought into closer 
Christian bonds. The influence of foreign 
missions has been to soften the asperity of 




CHRISTIAN UNION. 329 

sect, and thus promote Christian charity 
the world over. 

The hostile attitude of religious bodies in 
Chri&tian lands has long been a hinderance 
to the progress of Christianity. It has 
marred the comeliness of the visible church, 
and crippled its power to a large extent. 
Ultra denominationalism, with its narrow 
jealousies and chafing rivalries, has tended 
to strengthen false religions, as well as to 
weaken greatly the true. Christ prayed 
that his followers might be made perfect in 
one, — that the world might know that the 
Father had sent him. So it is that the spirit 
of Christian union has a salutary influence 
upon the world in sin. 

The foreign missionary work tends to pro- 
mote such union. Any great work done 
for the world lying in wickedness, helps to 
bring all hearts engaged in that work into 
closer and warmer sympathy. Such work 
serves to throw all lesser issues into the 
shade. 



330 THESE FOR THOSE. 

When Christians rise from the specific to 
the generic, from the particular to the com- 
prehensive, from the narrow to the grand, 
they are brought nearer together in nfutual 
interest and affection. The common object 
or enterprise looms up above all party and 
personal considerations. Laboring for a 
world, they come more closely into the sym- 
pathy of Him who suffered and died for a 
world. When a common evil of great pro- 
portions is attacked, or a common good of 
all-absorbing interest is sought, former differ- 
ences of feeling disappear or diminish, and 
grander motives and sympathies draw men 
to a common standard of view and of 
love. 

And then the courtesy which denomina- 
tional Boards of Missions show to each 
other in their affairs at home and in their 
work abroad, has a useful influence upon the 
churches that sustain them. In their anni- 
versaries, in their published documents and 
addresses, words of kindness, co-operation, 



THE GREAT WORK. 331 

and fraternity are used. A noble example 
this to the denominations united in these 
Boards, and in favor of the oneness of Chris- 
tian hearts. 

But missionaries themselves are far awav 

%i 

from scenes of denominational strife. Conflict 
is very rarely known in the foreign field. De- 
nominationalism there is a strange growth. 
It is a different thins: from that which bears 
its name in Christian countries. Mission- 
aries are engaged against a common enemy. 
They are sent out to overthrow heathenism 
by preaching the gospel. The work de- 
mands all their energies. They have little 
time or disposition to engage in party 
conflicts. They cannot come down to at- 
tend to these doubtful matters. They 
need all their strength and influence against 
overshadowing heathenism, and in efforts to 
build up the kingdom of love. They are 
willing that other orders should help them, 
and work by their side ; and that each one 
should work in his own way and style, and 



332 THESE FOR THOSE. 

with just that sort of armor and weapon 
which God has given him the skill to use. 
Keturned missionaries tell us that secta- 
rianism, in the bad sense, does not usually 
follow them into the foreign field. It does 
not ordinarily outlive the first sea-voyage ! 
Almost the next thing they get rid of after 
their sea-sickness, is their sectarianism, or 
the offensive features of it. How often have 
they been heard to say, possibly in a little 
of oriental exaggeration, that in the mission 
field, they scarcely knew what denomination 
they were of. They are Christians, at work 
for Christ to save the world ! Not that they 
love their own order less, but they love other 
orders better. Not that their home-loves 
are weaker, but their love for a lost world is 
stronger. They are far away; and every 
thing that bears the likeness of Christ is dear 
to them. Every one that can do the work 
of Christ is dear to them. So it seems 
unnatural to them, it is unnatural, to contend 
with their brethren, who bear the image of 



CO-OPERATION. 333 

Christ, and are engaged in the work of 
Christ for the perishing at their side. 

The several evangelical denominations 
abroad have thus co-operated together with 
singular harmony. Their differences, instead 
of being a weakness, have been rather a 
glory. These illustrations of Christian union 
in the foreign work have great moral sig- 
nificance. They are among the lesser lights 
of the Christian world ; and, shining from 
afar, have reached our own churches, and 
the effect has been good. 

For that which is useful and beautiful in 
the foreign field, is equally so in the home 
field. That which is good in India and 
China and Japan, is good also in Britain 
and America. Moral influences, moral forces, 
have a universal application. So the spirit 
of Christian union, that prevails largely and 
happily abroad, is reflected back upon the 
churches in our own country. The mis- 
sionary work reacts upon us in a variety of 
ways, — in modifying the developments of 



334 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Christianity in our awn country. The type 
of Christian truth set up in heathen coun- 
tries, makes an impression upon general 
Christian thought and feeling. The work 
abroad modifies our home work. The spirit 
that prevails there has its influence here. It 
could scarcely be otherwise. The communi- 
cations between missionaries abroad and the 
churches at home are constant and influential. 
Missionaries return frequently to this coun- 
try. It is best that they should do so ; they 
wear longer for the change. And they tell 
us how it is with them abroad, what they 
have done there, and how they have done 
it. Like Paul and Barnabas, they tell the 
churches at home what the Lord has wrought 
by their hands in heathen countries, and of 
the Christian fellowship and sympathy en- 
joyed in the field of their common labors. 
Besides, the letters and appeals of mis- 
sionary brethren, showing their success, and 
the catholic spirit in which the work has 
been done, have a tendency to benefit the 



FEWER TEMPTATIONS. 335 

churches at home, in promoting the mission- 
ary spirit, and the kindred feeling of Chris- 
tian brotherhood. 

We are led to see how it is with them 
there who are doing this work; that they 
cease from strife, co-operate together, love 
one another, and are one in their great 
work ; and we are forced to feel that it ought 
to be so with us here at home. 

I admit that missionaries have fewer 
temptations to sectarian jealousy than we 
have in this country. They have stronger 
motives to Christian fellowship, if possible, 
than we have in the midst of our gospel 
institutions and free civilization. Although 
their fields are often contiguous, they are 
not usually identical, — as they not unfre- 
quently are in this country. Their work is 
less mixed, is more separate and simple than 
ours ; and hence it offers fewer temptations 
to strife. Their example, however, should 
be none the less influential with us on this 
account ; for temptation never affords a valid 



336 THESE FOR THOSE. 

excuse for wrong-doing, neither do motives 
and facilities take essentially from the virtue 
of right-doing. The spirit of consecration 
that took these missionaries to their distant 
fields, tends to lift them above the spirit of 
sectarianism and the bitterness of party 
strife. A disinterested motive constrained 
them, and a spiritual influence sustains them. 
And wherever the spirit of the Lord is, there 
is unity as well as liberty. It was a King 
they went out under to the war. It is a 
warfare that admits of various armor and 
styles of service. It perhaps demands these. 
It is a kingdom of righteousness and of 
peace they went to build up. And no 
wonder they are not disposed to turn their 
armor and forces, needed wholly in the com- 
mon warfare, against each other ! The spirit 
of the prophets is subject to the prophets. 
I do not affirm that these things are 
strictly true in every mission field ; or that 
the great tempter has never tried his skill 
on missionary ground, nor sown the seeds of 



NOT AMALGAMATION. 337 

discord and jealousy there. I only say that 
where this has been done, it is a marked 
exception to the general facts in the case. 
My statement is general, that the positive 
influence of the foreign missionary work as 
tending to Christian union, through the 
example and spirit of those in the field, has 
been most happy upon the churches at home. 
It has been so every way, — in awakening 
the spirit of Christian enterprise, in quicken- 
ing the graces of the churches, and in pro- 
moting the spirit of Christian union and 
charity. 

I do not argue that religious denominations 
themselves should be disbanded. I have 
no faith in any broad-church principle or 
enterprise, nor in any so-called undenomi- 
national organizations. No permanent good 
will come at present in any such way. 
Christian union is not so reached. It is 
union, and not blending. It is unity 
in spirit, and not in organization. The 
law of progress in the church, is not 

22 



338 THESE FOR THOSE. 

towards unity in simplicity, but towards 
unity in diversity ! It is not elemental but 
spiritual oneness. It is the Spirit that 
maketh one. The unity that has proportion 
and grandeur has diversity, variety ! It is 
life — not shape — that gives unity. It is 
unity in variety, or variety working into 
unity, that is wanted in the church now. 
It is the selfishness and bitterness of the 
sects, and not their existence and form, 
that should pass away. Not sect, but sec- 
tarianism should cease. This shall be de- 
stroyed by the brightness of his coming. 

The Christian orders should have a bet- 
ter understanding among themselves. They 
should have a Christian sense or common- 
sense, that would lead them to feel that the 
things in which they are agreed, are greater 
than those in which they differ. Then they 
would be led to make more of their agree- 
ments, and less of their differences. Let 
them see how much there is that unites them, 
arid how little there is that divides them, 



TEST OF CHARACTER. 339 

and there would be more of close commun- 
ion , and less of closed communion ! 

We are disposed to place this among the 
many good influences that have come to us 
from foreign missions. The missionaries 
abroad have given us an example of Chris- 
tian sacrifice, and are teaching us lessons of 
Christian love and good will. We are learn- 
ing from them in these respects. There has 
been, as a result, a wider and heartier co- 
operation on the part of Christians of the 
different orders, in doing our home work. 
We are happy to ascribe these influences, 
first to the spirit of Christ, the great master- 
builder, and then, secondarily, to those who 
are acting according to his last command in 
the foreign work, and also according to 
the spirit of his prayer that all might be 
one. 

I will add in this connection, as showing 
the value of the missionary work, that it 
serves as a sort of test to Christian char- 
acter. This is true with respect to bodies 



340 THESE FOR THOSE, 

of Christians, and to professed Christians 
themselves. It is of the nature of a 
standard, or touchstone, to prove the gen- 
uineness of religious sects, the spirit and 
thoroughness of their faith and service. A 
religious denomination, at this day, brings 
itself into doubt as to the purity of its faith 
and the earnestness of its service for Christ, 
that declines this service of foreign missions. 
Since the church awoke to the work of mis- 
sions in these last times, the response which 
this call of Providence has met from Chris- 
tian denominations and churches can be 
properly taken as a test of their earnestness 
and faithfulness in the Christian service. 
We would naturally expect that any sect that 
had lost out of its life some essential ele- 
ment, or had embraced fundamental errors, 
would fail in this great Christian enterprise. 
It takes faith to do the work of faith. It 
takes faith to do the work of missions. It 
demands a high type of Christian character 
and consecration to carry forward this Chris- 



FAITH AND WORKS. 341 

tian warfare to the ends of the earth against 
such grave obstacles and discouragements. 
Hence the presence of missions serves as a 
test or proof of Christian loyalty. 

We would err on the side of charity rather 
than at its sacrifice ; but we are forced to the 
conviction that religious bodies, having ability 
and a membership equal to the undertaking, 
that do nothing in the work of foreign mis- 
sions, to which Christ commanded his fol- 
lowers, cannot be regarded at this day as a 
Christian power in the world. 

Habitual disobedience to a positive com- 
mand of Christ, where the excuse of ignorance 
or lack of opportunity cannot be urged, must 
be regarded as prejudicial to a sound Chris- 
tian character. He who obeys not, is as far 
from God as he who believes not. The lack 
of works really proves a defect in the 
faith, so a defective faith is betrayed by the 
failure of works. The leaven of error in a 
religious body would naturally be accom- 
panied by inefficiency in the performance of 



342 THESE FOR THOSE. 

high Christian duty. Such is the relation 
of faith and works, that the absence of the 
one demonstrates the absence of the other. 
It is so in the individual, it is the same with 
the denomination. Now that the light has 
come, and the world is open, and opportuni- 
ties to enter the great harvest field are 
multiplied, the Christian sect, or professed 
believer, that declines this work, or stands 
aloof from it, does not give good evidence 
of loyalty to Christ. I would discriminate 
here, where the claim of ignorance or of ina- 
bility can be set up. I am forced, also, to 
make exceptions in behalf of individuals who 
have stood forth as distinguished from the 
orders with which they are connected, by 
the spirit of a catholic unity and interest in 
the foreign missionary work. There are those 
who have given the highest possible proof 
of zeal and sincerity in this work. I could 
name persons, if it were proper to do so, 
distinguished in character and attainments, 
who are marked exceptions to the com- 



THE JESUITS. 343 

inunions with which they are nominally 
connected. 

But the Jesuits have shown great zeal in 
missions, it may be claimed ; and if this 
work is to be put forth as a test, in any good 
sense, of Christian faith and earnestness, we 
must take these also into our fellowship* 

It is necessary to look at the terms used. 
Have the Jesuits ever engaged in the work 
of missions in the Bible sense of the work ? 
They have compassed sea and land to make 
proselytes, not to Jesus Christ, but to the 
Pope at Rome. They seek to bring men, 
not into the kingdom of God, but into the 
Catholic church. And wherever the Roman 
Catholics go on their proselyting work, they 
antagonize against Protestant missions, they 
seek to exterminate them, root and branch. 
It seems absurd, therefore, to call things so 
opposite and antagonistic in purpose and 
spirit, by the same name. If those are mis- 
sionaries who substitute the wood of the 
cross for the doctrine of the cross, who con- 



344 THESE FOR THOSE. 

vert men to the Pope and the church, rather 
than to Christ and his kingdom, and every- 
where antagonize against, and exterminate 
if possible, the true work and church of 
Christ, — if we give the name of missionaries 
to such, then it would seem impossible, by 
any propriety of speech, to apply these names 
to those engaged in the great Christian work 
of the age. 

We cannot properly call one a mission- 
ary who is sent forth for any other purpose 
than to bring men to Christ. Where any 
other object than this inspires the move- 
ment, it cannot be styled a missionary 
movement. The persons engaged in it are 
not missionaries, but emissaries rather, nor 
are the denominations thus engaged entitled 
to be regarded as missionary bodies. 

This test to which religious denominations 
are brought here, is one to which professed 
Christians, also, I have said, may be brought. 
Interest in the work of missions is a gospel 
test. There is perhaps a degree of igno- 



PROOF WANTING. 345 

ranee that lingers in the Christian church, 
that requires some charity. God winks at 
sins of ignorance, and at neglects of duty 
that come in consequence of it; — but now 
commands men everywhere to repent, and 
do the works of faith. A professed Christian 
at this time, having knowledge and ability, 
that does nothing in the way of missions, 
gives questionable proof of love to Christ. 
How can one have love to the Redeemer, 
who lives in habitual disregard of his king- 
dom, and in known disobedience to his last 
command ? What proof can one give of love 
to Christ, who makes no personal sacrifice to 
publish his gospel, and carry the news of 
salvation to a lost world, — w r ho gives 
nothing and does nothing to save the 
perishing? Can such claim that they are 
controlled by Christian principle, or the 
golden rule of Christ? If they themselves 
were idolators, were wallowing in the abom- 
inations of heathenism, would they not wish, 
judging from their present stand -point of 



346 THESE FOR THOSE. 

intelligence, that the gospel should be sent 
to them in the quickest possible time? 
Would such be willing to be left to perish 
in ignorance? Then they ought to do as 
they would in reason wish that others should 
do for them in a change of circumstances. 

Missions were sent to our ancestors. Thus 
we have our Christian civilization. Was 
that a right movement? If so, are we not 
bound to do the same ourselves for those 
who are still in heathenism? Pagans now 
need Christianity as much as our ancestors 
did. It would do them as much good as it 
did us anciently. They have as good aright 
to it as from us, as our ancestors had from 
others, in their day. We have no more 
right to withhold the gospel from the half of 
the world now in ignorance, than the church 
thirteen hundred years ago had to withhold it 
from our forefathers. Our interest in this 
w r ork, therefore, may be taken as a test of 
our Christian discipleship. That is of value 
to the church of Christ, and to professed 



INTEREST EVIDENT. 347 

believers in Christ, that supplies a standard 
of correct moral judgment. Interest in the 
missionary work may, indeed, be assumed, 
and hence become hypocritical. But the 
lack of interest is never assumed. If it 
seems to exist, it really exists, and is a most 
painful proof of Want of love and loyalty to 
Christ. And that which acts as the fan, to 
test the wheat or chaff upon the floor, has a 
worth on this account. Tests, ordeals are 
useful; and nowhere more so than in the 
spiritual kingdom. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

MORE DIRECT INFLUENCE OF MISSIONS ON THE 
SPIRITUALITY OF THE CHURCHES. 

What Demonstrates the Purity of Christianity 
Affects Religion — Influence of Comprehen- 
sive Affection — Love to Mankind brings us 
into Union with Christ — Different Forms of 
World love — Missions Arrest Worldliness in 
the Churches. 



SPEAK now of the more direct 
influence of foreign missions upon 
the prosperity and spirituality of the 
churches at home. Whatever tends to 
promote the standard of piety in the 
churches, is not only a personal but a 
national blessing. It is good for this life, 
it is good for the life to come. It affects 
religion, it affects civilization. For Chris- 
tianity is the grand conservative power in 




CHRISTIAN TESTS. 349 

our civilization. It is the central influence 
for good in the nation. This influence 
is omnipresent. It reaches every thing. 
Christians are as the salt of every com- 
munity. And whatever adds to the force 
of this element of power and preservation 
is a positive blessing. Whatever raises the 
standard of piety, and improves the quality 
of Christian character, is a blessing to man- 
bind. 

The purer Christianity is, the more effec- 
tive ; the more genuine and free, the more 
aggressive and energetic. The light that 
blesses the world is a light that shines I 
The more brilliant, the wider the circumfer- 
ence reached by it. It is proved thus to be 
the light of heaven and the light of the world. 
That which becomes the light of the whole 
world is certainly a light from heaven. So 
whatever tends to make the light of the 
church shine more brightly and beneficently 
on earth, becomes a blessing to man, and on 
the broadest scale. The missionary spirit 



350 THESE FOR THOSE. 

has this tendency. It reacts usefully and 
healthfully upon the character and heart. 
An objective enterprise of such moral gran- 
deur kindles the affections and strengthens 
religious principle and purpose. Love to 
a lost world in positive and useful exer- 
cise, marks the presence of the Christian 
graces not only, but gives them a healthier 
activity. The spark of missionary fire 
from afar that had caught in the languid 
piety of the church, tends to kindle its piety 
to a flame. It is of the nature of true relig- 
ion that it should be so. Love is the fire 
within ; and the graces of religion will glow 
and expand, if love, disinterested and en- 
larged, burn within, and reach out toward 
a lost world. 

The amount and purity of love is index- 
ical of the entire character. The greatest of 
these is charity. It is the test of all, the 
proof of all, the presence, the promise of all. 
The comprehensive includes the particular. 
Lpve is the beam from heaven ; and the sev- 



EFFECT OF WORLD-LOVE. 351 

eral graces are the distinct colors tliat com- 
pose it. This grand affection includes the 
specific graces. Where there is love to Christ 
in the heart, we love like Christ ; we shall 
love all that he loved. Christ's love compre- 
hended a world. Christian love does the 
same. Else it is not genuine. Such love is 
not local, narrow, selfish, but expansive and 
all-embrafcing. Hence its profitableness unto 
all things. For where this broad, grand prin- 
ciple of love abounds, this comprehensive 
charity, this world-love, — there will be the 
growth of each particular affection, there 
will be prompt interest in every thing per- 
taining to mankind. This all-regulating 
principle, like a steady central wheel, is felt 
in all the practical operations and duties of 
religion, and in all the useful affairs and 
movements of human life. 

In the moral world as in the natural, 
effects become causes, as well as follow 
causes. They are causes to still higher 
effects and grander ends, which in their turn 



352 THESE FOR THOSE. 

become a yet mightier motive-power in the 
universe. Love carries the lesser graces up 
to the loftiest standard, has an outlook upon 
a lost world, and reaches forth to embrace 
it. As the result of such expansion, it 
shines with intenser light and warmth upon 
all the graces and qualities of the soul, and 
all that is lovely in society and the world. 
Such love to the world in practical exercise 
is necessary to bring us into relationship to 
Christ. He was the Saviour of all men; 
tasted death for every man ; was the propitia- 
tion for our sins, and not for our sins only, 
but for the sins of the whole world. The love 
that is truly Christlike is love for the whole 
world. It is love like Christ's that brings us 
into sympathy with him, into identity with 
him. It leads us to imitate him, and to suffer 
for him, and for the perishing everywhere. It 
brings us into obedience to his command- 
ments. It brings us into co-operation and 
companionship with him in his kingdom. 
Christ's love was a world-love, and our love, 



IDENTIFIES US WITH CHRIST. 353 

to be like his, must be a love for the whole 
world. When the mind and heart open them- 
selves to take in the whole world, then we 
think as Christ thought, we feel as he felt, we 
act as he acted, and suffer cheerfully in our 
degree, as He suffered in his. And thus, en- 
tering into his sympathy, we come to be like 
Christ. And to be like Christ, we need this 
cause of missions to give us the fullness and 
expansion of Christ's love, and to lead us to 
the highest Christian exercise and sacrifice. 
This enterprise orbs out this love in its earth 
view and embrace. So Christ's plans be- 
come our plans, his purposes our purposes, 
his spirit our spirit, his kingdom our king- 
dom. We do not follow Christ, till we 
come to love as he loved, and act as he 
acted. We do not obey Christ till we love 
those whom he loved, and those whom he 
bade us to love, and all those whom he bade 
us to love. Then are we ready to accept 
the conditions of discipleship on Christian 
terms, by laboring and suffering for a world, 
as did the Master whom we follow. 

23 



354 THESE FOR THOSE. 

So this world-love is the opposite of 
love for this world, in the common and 
natural sense. That is disinterested, this is 
selfish. The one is holy, the other sinful 
love. The former is commanded, the latter 
forbidden. Every thing pertaining to the 
character and destiny depends on the kind 
of world we have in the heart; — whether 
it be the world we are commanded to love, 
or the one we are forbidden to love ; the 
world we are to labor for and save, or 
the world we are commanded to crucify, 
with the affections and lusts. Genuine love 
for this world creates heavenly-mindedness ; 
the selfish love of it is the substance of 
worldliness. The kind of world-love we 
exercise determines our moral character and 
destiny. As is the world within us, — 
which we seek and love, — so are we. The 
wrong world in the heart, the affections are 
corrupted, narrowed, congealed. No virtue 
can grow there, nor good quality ; no good 
sympathy nor purpose. It is a cheerless. 



THE RIGHT WORLD. 355 

sunless world, a starless, breathless one. 
Its elements and influences are evil and 
only evil. The love of this world worketh 
death. 

But the right world in the heart, the world 
that God made, and Christ redeemed, this 
perishing, pleading, sinking world, — and 
the affections are made better for it; they 
are expanded to a higher orbit, and a larger 
exercise and experience. There is room in 
that heart for all else that is good. It is not 
a cold, cheerless, sunless world that revolves 
there, without heavens or star or law ! No : 
there is an overspreading heavens, resplen- 
dent to the spiritual eye. 

Now, the missionary spirit settles this 
point as to the kind of world we have within 
us. There are affections that respond to 
these opposite worlds ; affections that repre- 
sent them, and illustrate them, till the one 
class or the other ultimately prevails. The 
disinterested affection goes out toward a 
world in sin, the selfish affection toward a 



356 THESE FOE THOSE. 

world of sin. The one affection is Christ- 
like and comprehensive ; the other is earthy 
and devilish. 

The foreign mission work had a mighty 
influence, half a century ago, in arresting the 
decay of the churches of New England. The 
drift was toward formality and rationalism. 
Spirituality had fearfully declined. That 
work led to noble Christian enterprises in 
various directions. These gave the churches 
something to do that was practicable and 
spiritual and worthy of their calling. This 
movement awakened Christian thought and 
interest. It deepened religious experience. 
So this grand movement exerted a conserva- 
tive influence to arrest the downward course 
of things in the church. It was, perhaps, 
the weight that turned the vast scale then 
hanging in suspense, and thus saved the 
churches of our land from a total defection 
from the faith. But it is impossible for us 
now to keep our standing on the ground 
where the churches stood fifty years ago. 



TRUE CHARITY. 357 

Our candlestick would be soon moved out of 
its place. Ours is an age of light and 
motive, of opportunity, obligation, and 
progress. We cannot screen ourselves be- 
hind the indifference and apathy of past 
generations. Our religion should adapt 
itself to our circumstances and exigencies, 
and the grand opportunities before us. It 
has need to be self-forgetting, out-reaching 
and all-embracing; and not self-conscious, 
self-tending and world-worshiping. If 
charity begins at home, it does not stay at 
home, but goes out everywhere, like the 
Great Master, to do good to all. Home- 
bound, home-sick charity, that demoralizes 
the courage and purposes, that shrinks from 
enterprise, and shirks responsibility and suf- 
fering, is not the true grace. It should not 
aave the name of charity, but some synonym 
of selfishness. For what though this great 
work was to begin at Jerusalem, it was not 
to end there, nor to stay there even till 
Jerusalem itself was converted. No, the 



358 THESE FOR THOSE. 

standard was to move forward and onward ; 
it was to be set up among the gentiles. 
Our standard is to have on its folds the 
motto — " For a World ! " 

The love that goes out to a lost world 
will be careful indeed for the lesser inter- 
ests of society and of charity. It will 
embrace home and country and self even. 
Here again is seen the profitableness of this 
comprehensive affection or missionary spirit. 
That which embraces the whole includes the 
parts, and reaches all lesser interests. The 
disinterested is always comprehensive. The 
test of pure attachment, and the touchstone 
of true character, is this tendency to the 
disinterested in our affections and activi- 
ties. 

A proper self-love is distinguished from 
ordinary selfishness by its tendency to 
fellowship in things excellent, and in its 
natural affiliation with the human race. It 
harmonizes with love to others. Natural 
affection, though innocent, is not disinter- 



DISINTERESTEDNESS. 359 

ested affection ; but it is in harmony with it, 
is consistent with it, is not indeed consistent 
till identified with it. The natural affections 
never appear in their beauty, till they come 
to be blended with disinterested love that 
embraces a perishing world. 

Disinterestedness, it has been remarked, 
is the one grand feature of the missionary 
movement ; and its exercise in behalf of 
a world* becomes, by a spiritual law, a 
blessing to those who enter into the spirit 
of this work at home. This element of 
disinterestedness, without which the mission- 
ary enterprise were impossible, is itself the 
mainspring of the moral affections. It gives 
strength and tone to Christian character; 
it gives health and inspiration to all humane 
sentiments. It medicates in the moral na- 
ture, gives force and firmness to the faltering 
affections. Every form of disinterested labor 
in the world reacts upon the great Christian 
body, and upon each individual heart. 
Such out-reaching, self-forgetting effort 



360 THESE FOR THOSE. 

^ives breadth to the soul, and power to 
the Christian life. 1 

This grand movement has promoted our 
civilization; it has helped us as a nation; 
it has blessed our land in all its interests; 

1 It has been said that the hand follows the heart ; it 
is true, also, that the heart may follow the hand. A 
disinterested act arouses disinterested affection. The 
tongue, too, follows the heart, and indicates the heart 
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. 
Words on the other hand react upon the heart. Eight 
utterances, warm expressions of disinterested desire 
move the heart. Outward expressions cast their im- 
age, and stamp their likeness upon the tablets within. 
The influence is reciprocal. Causes and effects have 
an inter-play, or change places on the moral scene. 
Such are we, and such the mechanism with which our 
responsibility is connected. The kind of work in 
which we are engaged has an influence upon the moral 
affections and character. It cannot but be so. The 
moral character of the foreign missionary enterprise, 
as a disinterested work done for a lost world, must 
needs have the goodliest influence upon the persons 
eugaged in it. It brings into exercise the noblest 
affections of man. Its influence upon the Christian 
religion in this age, and upon the piety of the church 
of Christ, cannot be questioned. 



RESULTANT INFLUENCE. 361 

but, best of all, and including all, it has 
quickened personal piety. It has given 
exercise to all practical godliness. It has 
cultivated sympathies and quickened affec- 
tions that are of priceless worth in the 
church and in the world. That which we 
do for others spiritually, is indeed done 
for ourselves also. What the churches and 
denominations do for the advancement of 
Christianity in the world, is done for them- 
selves in the way of their own strength- 
ening. This resultant influence of the 
missionary work is invaluable. The reflex 
spiritual benefits of Christian missions upon 
the churches and persons that support them 
is a large item in their value to the world. 
Christian nations will themselves be evangel- 
ized thoroughly only in the work of evange- 
lizing the heathen nations. The reflex influ- 
ence upon a church or christian community, 
of entering upon some great objective enter- 
prise that accords with the spirit of Chris- 
tianity and their sense of responsibility, is 



362 THESE FOR THOSE. 

one of the sure spiritual results of such an 
enterprise, in its rebound upon those who 
move in it. 

Says Andrew Fuller : M There was a period 
in my ministry marked by the most pointed 
systematic efforts to comfort my serious 
people; but the more I tried to comfort 
them, the more they complained of doubts 
and darkness. I knew not what to do, nor 
what to think, for I had done my best to 
comfort the mourners in Zion. At this time 
it pleased God to direct my attention to the 
claims of the perishing heathen in India ; 
I felt that we had been living for ourselves, 
and not caring for their souls. I spoke as I 
felt. My serious people wondered and wept 
over their past inattention to the subject. 
They began to talk about a Baptist mission. 
The females especially began to collect 
money for the spread of the gospel. We 
met and prayed for the heathen ; met and 
considered what could be done among our- 
selves for them : met and did what we could. 



ANDREW FULLER. 363 

And whilst all this was going on. the 
lamentation ceased. The sad became cheer- 
ful, and the desponding calm. No one 
complained of a want of comfort. And I; 
instead of having to study how to comfort 
my flock, was myself comforted by them* 
They were drawn out of themselves. That 
was the real secret. God blessed them 
while they tried to be a blessing. 

"The thought of having done something 
towards enlarging the boundaries of our 
Saviour's kingdom, and of rescuing poor 
heathens and Mahometans from under Satan's 
yoke, rejoiced our hearts. We were glad, 
also, to see the people of God offering so 
willingly ; some leaving their country, others 
pouring in their property, and all uniting in 
prayers to Heaven for a blessing. A new 
bond of union was formed between distant 
ministers and churches. Some who had 
backslidden from God, were restored; and 
others who had long been poring over their 
unfruitfulness, and questioning the reality 



364 THESE FOR THOSE. 

of their personal religion, having their atten- 
tion directed to Christ and his kingdom, lost 
their fears, and found that peace which in 
other pursuits they had sought in vain. 
In short, our hearts were enlarged ; and if 
no other good had arisen from the under- 
taking than the effect produced upon our 
own minds, and the minds of Christians in 
our own country, it were more than equal to 
the expense." 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

WAYS IN WHICH MISSION WORK HAS AFFECT- 
ED OUR PIETY. 

The Return op Missionaries — Lifting of the Pub- 
lic Heart to take ln the World — Effects of 
Published Works and Appeals — Life of Mar- 
tyn — Brainard — Harriet Newell — The Jud- 
sons — Dr. Grant — Miss Fiske, and other 
Works. 



«E HAVE seen the tendency of the 
/J||l| missionary spirit to awaken Christian 
zeal, and to transfuse a quickened 
Christian life into the churches. That which 
goes out from us to bless others, as well as 
that which comes to us from others, affects us 
for good. What we hear, as well as what 
we see, influences us, and all the more when 
the delineations are lifelike. The description 
given by returned missionaries of their field 



366 THESE FOR THOSE. 

and work, of the condition of the people for 
whom they labor, begets the liveliest Chris- 
tian sympathy. The account we get from mis- 
sion fields, whether through correspondence 
in the public journals, or in public addresses 
from the missionaries themselves, serves 
to awaken a deeper sense of obligation, as 
well as to stir the sympathies of the heart. 
We cannot feel for those of whom we know 
nothing, or have never heard. Out of sight, 
out of mind. We must behold before we 
can pity. But the beholding in this case 
must be mainly through the eyes of others. 
We cannot visit heathen lands ourselves ; we 
have to rely on those who have been actors 
in the scene of the world's redemption, for 
the knowledge we have of the necessities 
and claims of the heathen. 

Very little was known of the spiritual 
condition of the heathen, till they were vis- 
ited by missionaries, and facts were spread 
out before the churches at home. These 
facts stirred the hearts of God's people ; a 



BIOGRAPHIES. 367 

new sense of obligation was felt ; Christian- 
ity assumed a new interest. It entered upon 
a broader ministry to man. Christians began 
to feel that the ignorant and neglected had 
.claims on them. New elements were added 
to prayer. Breadth and fervor were given 
to it. Men prayed for a perishing world, as 
they had never done before. The spirit of 
prayer soon found expression in correspond- 
ing efforts to save the world. It embodied 
itself in the principle of Christian benevo- 
lence, and of personal sacrifice. 

I refer now to publications and peri- 
odicals which the missionary work has 
brought out. These constitute a valuable 
portion of our Christian literature. They 
have exerted a grand influence upon the 
Christian mind, and upon the activity of the 
churches. 

The Life of Henry Martyn, written half a 
century ago, embodying his best thoughts, 
his burning thoughts, is still a fresh book, 
and was never more useful in the Christian 



368 THESE FOR THOSE. 

« 

world than now. It is in most of our Chris- 
tian libraries, and the spirit of it, with its 
leading sentiments and facts, has gone into 
other channels, and thus into the life of 
our Christian literature. The contributions 
made to science and letters by his brief 
labors in the East, have an acknowledged 
value, though subordinate wholly to the 
inspiration given to the Christian heart by 
his earnest appeals for a perishing world. 
The value and record of his brief work and 
many sacrifices, will not be fully known till 
the last day. 

The same is to be said of the life and sac- 
rifices of David Brainard, whose memoirs 
were written by Jonathan Edwards, more 
than a century ago. The missionary spirit 
was a heavenly flame in his soul. He en- 
tered upon his work among the Indians 
with a consecration that overcame all diffi- 
culties and obstacles, made him insensible 
to suffering and sacrifice, and gave him an 
influence, not only among the Indians, but 



BIOGRAPHIES. 369 

throughout the Christian church and world, 
that never could be estimated. 

The life of Dr. Lobdell, by Prof. Tyler of 
Amherst College, has great worth in giving 
us a full form view of the Christian hero on 
missionary ground; dauntless in courage 
and adventure, enthusiastic in labor and 
research, which enabled him to add largely 
to the scientific treasures of his Alma Mater, 
and to our knowledge of those ancient 
lands. 

Look at the brief life of Harriet Newell, 
the early heroine of the missionary cause, 
without even having entered practically 
upon the work. Her brief and tender story, 
written half a century ago, has stirred the 
heart of millions for Christ and a dying 
world. In hope deferred, in heart-break- 
ings for missionary toil, tossed upon those 
unfriendly seas, now hovering upon that 
more unfriendly coast, where a Christian 
nation ruled, but forbade the missionary 

work; there she sank peacefully into the 
24 * 



370 THESE FOR THOSE. 

arms of death, to be buried upon a tropical 
isle, greatly rejoicing that she was counted 
worthy to suffer for Christ, and devote, even 
only in purpose, her life to the missionary 
work. The whole missionary cause orbed 
itself out in her early consecration and tri- 
umphs. 

And the Judson memoirs, — first of the 
wife, then of a second wife, then of himself, 
and now of the third wife, — they have a 
rare interest for us, and have made an im- 
pression upon our Christian literature and 
upon the Christian world. 

Turn to the life of Dr. Grant. He left a 
lucrative business in this country to go to a 
distant field; and, when there, chose the 
hardest and most perilous work of a pioneer, 
and laid down his life early upon the altar of 
Christ, under the shadow of the Koordish 
mountains. The moral influence of that 
book is grand. It gives to the world the 
full-length portrait of a noble Christian hero. 
The inspiration that has come of that 



BIOGRAPHIES. 371 

recorded life, who can measure, in moral 
enthusiasm aroused, and Christian feeling 
and consecration deepened? These wait to 
be revealed in another world. 

Or contemplate the sainted Stoddard, — 
the ripe scholar, the Christian gentleman, 
of high and saintly aspirations, "the seraph 
missionary." Note, too, the writings and 
toils of Fidelia Fisk ; of whom Dr. Ander- 
son says : "In the structure and working 
of her whole nature, she seemed to me the 
nearest approach, I ever saw, in man or 
woman, to my ideal of our blessed Saviour, 
as he appeared in his walks on earth. Her 
usefulness was as extraordinary as her char- 
acter." And now the memoir of Mr. Rhea, 
of the same mission, and of the same spirit, 
who has taken his place ia that constellation 
of worthies that have gone to their bright 
home from the Nestorian field. 

The Memorial of Mrs. H. Hamlin, mis- 
sionary in Turkey, by Mrs. Margarette 
W. Lawrence : This work was published 



372 THESE FOR THOSE. 

sixteen years ago, and has taken a high rank 
among missionary memorials. Its influence 
upon the Christian mind, especially the clos- 
ing part of it, that shows us the glorious 
sunset of that missionary career, has been 
widely and happily felt. One has seldom 
read the book who has not resolved to read 
it a second time. It throws a sort of charm 
upon the scenery and locations of the East, 
not only, but also upon missionary life and 
Christian heroism. Ehodes, where she died, 
and Patmos are associated now in the Chris- 
tian mind. The beloved disciple had visions 
on the one ; another, of kindred spirit, of 
saintly character and influence, triumphantly 
closed her precious life, on the other ! 

The memorial of Henry Martyn Adams, 
missionary to Western Africa, by Kev. A. 
Bushnell : It is a small volume, but does 
not need to be large to do its work of love 
among the churches. It enshrines a most 
lovely and useful character, whose last days 
were days of communion with heaven, passing 



BIOGRAPHIES. 373 

verily and literally into open vision. It is 
recorded that the natives who saw him die, 
were profoundly impressed with a conviction 
of the reality of the Christian religion, and 
of a living world above. 

The memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. Smith, of 
the mission in Syria, by Dr. Hooker, does 
honor to the missionary work and spirit. It 
brings out into clearer light a most intelli- 
gent and lovely character, of the sweetest 
influence upon the mission circle and upon 
the native mind and heart. Her letters had 
large influence at home, as unpublished ; but 
their sacred power has been multiplied a 
thousand-fold by the hand, heart and taste 
of the biographer. 

I ought not to omit a volume — American 
Missionary Memorial, Harper and Brothers 
— that gives sketches of Gorden Hall, James 
Eichards, Adoniram Judson, Pliny Fisk, 
Levi Parsons, Daniel Temple, Azariah Smith, 
David Abeel and many others. This rich 
volume has furnished material, in part, for 



374 THESE FOR THOSE. 

many a missionary discourse and appeal, 
and cannot be read without leaving the most 
salutary impression. 

But these are only a part of the published 
memorials of deceased missionaries. I do 
not attempt to go over the whole field of 
missionary literature, nor to allude to all the 
books and reports that have been written 
upon missionary subjects. In passing over 
the ground, I have touched here and there a 
spot or object of interest as an illustration 
of the whole. 

But the effect of this type of literature 
upon the Christian mind and character is 
very great. Nor is this influence confined 
to the Christian mind. This kind of litera- 
ture is extensively read by people of various 
classes. Its influence upon such is most 
salutary, enlarging the sphere of their 
knowledge, impressing their minds with the 
truth and value of Christianity, and predis- 
posing thiem to embrace it. 

I made reference under the preceding 



MISSIONARY HERALD. 375 

Topic to the value of missionary periodicals 
as promoting science and knowledge ; I 
would add now that their value in awaken- 
ing the Christian mind, yea, every intel- 
ligent reader, to a higher sense of the worth 
of the gospel, the power and importance 
of religion, and the grandeur of the mis- 
sionary enterprise among the nations, is far 
greater, and cannot be overrated. 

The Missionary Herald has exerted more 
influence in these ways than any other 
missionary periodical.. The accuracy with 
which it has been edited, care and dis- 
crimination as to the materials selected, 
the candor and faithfulness that characterize 
its columns, the vast range of topics treated, 
and the broad field covered; its highly 
evangelical spirit, together with the wisdom 
of its suggestions and counsels, and of late, 
its pictorial illustrations, — give this peri- 
odical the first place of its kind in the confi- 
dence of the Christian churches, and of the 
reading public. 



376 THESE FOR THOSE. 

Foreign missions have given us the 
Monthly Concert of Prayer, the family 
altar scene of the Church, where Chris- 
tians, all over the world, bow together to 
plead for the coming of the kingdom of 
Christ. Next to the Communion table, this 
great Concert of Prayer gives visible unity 
to the Christian family, in bringing all hearts, 
at the same time and act, as it were, to unite 
in one all-absorbing and comprehensive re- 
quest at the throne of grace. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

NEW IMPULSE GIVEN TO CHRISTIAN CHARITY. 

how it had been — missions chief in this revival 
— Christianity requires Sacrifice — Effect on 
the one who makes it — effects on the 
Worldly — Use of giving as a Test — Effects 
of the Gospel on the Property Relation — 
Through this on our Welfare — Example of 
Mission Churches— Giving among the Chil- 
dren. 

HE work of foreign missions has 
had a tendency to promote the spirit 
of Christian giving. It has thus 
strengthened the habit of giving. In this 
way it has exerted a favorable influence upon 
individual character, and the piety of the 
church. 

There was not much of Christian giving till 
the missionary work commenced. Nor was 




378 THESE FOR THOSE. 

the giving of former days of a character gen- 
erally to test Christian motives or stir the 
Christian heart. 

The foreign missionary cause took the lead 
in the great system of Christian charities. 
One of the first proofs of its happy reflex 
power on the churches, was its effect on their 
benevolence. There was not much done foi 
the neglected at home till the Christian heart 
had been moved toward the more neglected 
and needy abroad. Christian beneficence 
had been hardly recognized as a part of our 
religion till the condition of the world had 
been spread out before the churches. Giving 
by a fixed rule, or according to a systematic 
method, had not been regarded as a Christian 
duty at all, much less as a Christian ordi- 
nance and test. Nor was the idea of sacrifice 
in the form of abstaining from hurtful lux- 
uries, or the absurdities of fashion, much 
considered in those times. Fashion was in- 
deed confined rather to aristocratic circles, to 
which the above remark is intended rather 



OLDEN TIME. 379 

to refer. Who ever heard, half a century ago, 
of parting with a fixed portion of one's annual 
income to send the gospel to the destitute ? 
Eeligion was a good deal limited then, and, 
with rare exceptions, to the narrow circle of 
home society, and to the personal salvation 
of the possessor, and its flame was feeble 
just in proportion to the narrowness of its 
circumference. 

Covetousness in those times did not make 
yery seriously against Christian character. 
Notorious selfishness got into the church and 
had respectability there, scarcely less than in 
the world outside. Benevolence in the way 
of giving and of sacrifice for lost men, was 
by no means regarded as a test of religious 
character. Much less was it thought of, in- 
deed, as the antidote to selfishness instru- 
mentally, or as tending to eradicate wrong 
affections. The church was suffering for 
some great and adequate work to do. Chris- 
tianity was lacking in the prime element of 
disinterestedness. It had, alas, folded in 



380 THESE FOR THOSE. 

upon itself, and was thus doing the work of 
self-destruction. A monopoly of it by the 
nominal church was hindering its develop- 
ment, hardening its sympathies, and crush- 
ing out its life. Christian people, though 
saved themselves from a savage state of old, 
that would have been inherited from a heathen 
ancestry if the gospel had not been sent 
among them in the form of missions, were 
insensible to their obligation to send that 
same gospel in the way of missions, to those 
that still remain in idolatry. The effect of \ 
such indifference and inconsistency upon the 1 
church had come to be painfully visible. / 
The foreign missionary enterprise was there- 
fore opportune in its quickening effect upon 
the churches. Its result was soon felt in the 
progress of religion in our country and in 
every department of religious labor. 

Christianity is of a nature that it cannot 
be monopolized. It cannot be appropriated 
exclusively by any people. It demands the 
opposite course. The having here is by 



GOSPEL TENDENCIES. 381 

parting ; the possessing is by giving ; arms- 
giving, heart-giving. The tendency of the 
gospel is to diffusion, expansion. Its power 
is centrifugal mainly, and such working or 
tendency is proof of its genuineness. Just 
to the extent that its circle is narrowed, piety 
is crippled. Let its office in the soul and in \ 
the world be limited to self, or our own \ 
circle, and it could scarcely be distinguished 
from mere selfishness. Contraction in spir- 
itual things is suppression ; non-extension is 
extinction. A gospel narrowed is a gospel 
perverted. The gospel monopolized is 
another gospel and not Christ's. Chris- 
tianity is for the world, the whole world, 
and is to be embraced with just this view of 
its nature and claims. And whatever tends 
to correct our theory of the gospel and of 
religion practically in these respects, tends 
to a vital reformation in the church itself. 
A gift from others does not do us any es- 
sential good unless it awakens in us the de- 
sire and purpose to give to those in like cir- 



382 THESE FOR THOSE. 

cumstances of need. Then the thing received 
becomes a blessing, in awakening the spirit 
of benevolence. Any thing rightly bestowed 
returns to our own hand and heart. The 
truly benevolent are their own beneficiaries 
in a sense, — not intentionally, but providen- 
tially. The gospel does not bless us unless 
it serves to make us a blessing to others. 
Its influence does not greatly improve the 
character, unless it impresses the spirit of 
the golden rule of Christ upon it. 

The work of foreign missions has blessed 
the nations abroad in giving them Christi- 
anity instead of paganism. A second grand 
result of the missionaiy work is in the moral 
power it has imparted to those engaged in it, 
by promoting the spirit of Christian benevo- 
lence, and in giving breadth and depth to 
Christian principle. The habit of Christian 
giving blesses our own country as well as 
foreign fields. It reaches every class of suf- 
ferers here at home ; the poor, the ignorant, 
the neglected and forgotten. One of the 



AFFECTS BENEVOLENCE. 383 

capabilities for usefulness in the world, one 
of the great resources of good, lies in 
the abundance men possess, and their will- 
ingness to bestow considerately and heartily 
upon others. And whatever tends to utilize 
these sources of good, and to equalize God's 
bounties, becomes a benefit to the world and 
every part of it. 

The effect of this work of missions in 
promoting the habit of giving, is by no 
means confined to Christians themselves. It 
extends to others. It reaches the unregen- 
erate, and forms in them the habit of giving. 
The thing becomes itself contagious. The 
unconverted in the midst of gospel influ- 
ences often take on gospel ways. The grace 
of benevolence is not in them, but the out- 
ward habit or form of it is useful. So it 
comes to pass that the spirit of giving in tho 
Christian church tends to promote the same 
outside the church, and, in this collateral 
way, becomes of great use to the world. 
The good are the light of the world, 



384 THESE FOR THOSE. 

and the rays of influence are reflected even 
from the worldly themselves. Light is use- 
ful as reflected. Christian light has value, 
and becomes a blessing often, — as reflected 
from those who are not Christians. It is 
possible to experience religion in the out- 
ward sense, as reflected upon us from others. 
But it is the experience of others' religion. 
It affects the habits of men, and may, ulti- 
mately, the heart. It helps to mould men's 
lives, if not their principles. It is some- 
thing to walk in the light of others, and to 
reflect, though feebly, that light. 

For this life certainly, Christianity is a 
blessing to those outside the church. There 
is an outward, sympathetic change of charac- 
ter that comes from the presence of Christian 
influences, and the radiance of Christian 
light. These are all-pervading, as the at- 
mosphere and sunlight. They affect the 
habits, also the character and the life. Men 
of the world are led to do good from the 
example and influence of others. The 






GOSPEL INFLUENCES. 385 

power of Christianity repeats itself in echoes 
of generous liberality and activity from those 
that are without. 

If foreign missionaries have done good in^ 
reviving the spirit of benevolence in the 
churches, the light of this good has reached 
the world outside. Whatever promotes 
piety in the church, promotes morality at 
least outside the church. The- standard of 
Christianity cannot be elevated without a 
corresponding elevation of society generally. 
It is of great worth to the world to utilize 
its wealth and resources. And this is the 
proper tendency of Christianity; the great 
Christian movements of the church for the 
world's salvation, have worked toward this 
result. If so, who can measure this good ! 
The heathen nations need missions, but 
Christian nations need them also, to counter- 
act selfishness, to check the waves of world- 
liness, and give men a work to do that is 
worthy of their high calling and destiny. 

There is no neutrality in the kingdom of 

25 



386. THESE FOR THOSE. 

heaven. The Sandwich Island savages had 
already thrown away their gods when the 
missionaries found them. But they were 
really no better on that account. The cast- 
ing away of idols is really a blessing only 
when followed by the worship of the true 
God. The putting away of the idolatry of 
selfishness or covetousness has need to be 
followed by the virtue of benevolence. Na- 
ture nor grace allows a vacuum. The sin of 
idolatry so prevalent in Christian lands, can 
be broken up in no other way than by the 
growth of the opposite principle of Christian 
charity. God does not always take away 
moral evils by his spirit directly, but often 
indirectly, in the culture and crowding of 
the opposite graces. 1 

1 The antidote to an evil is usually the thing that is 
most nearly its opposite. I am aware that this is de- 
nied to be true in physical science and remedy. It is 
maintained that like cures like, an atom of the same ar- 
rests injurious disease. I have no knowledge here and 
must not judge ; but I am sure it does not hold in 
spiritual things. Like does not heal like there. Moral 



LAW OF OPPOSITES. 387 

The law of opposites prevails in the moral 
kingdom as well as in the natural. Evil pas- 
evils do not cure themselves, nor one another. They 
may sometimes counterwork each other, or hold each 
other in check for a season. The gratification of ap- 
petite may interfere with some other idolatry of the 
heart. But the evil passions never eradicate the one 
the other. Sinfulness in the soul is counteracted only 
by the working of its opposite there. It takes op- 
posites to be antidotes. Satan does not cast out Satan. 
The great generic wickedness of the heart and world, 
or one form of it, is covetousness, selfishness. The 
Bible pronounces this sin to be idolatry, and classes it 
with the things that exclude from heaven. Where 
one has this sin in the heart, how is it to be treated ? 
It is idolatry, how is it to be broken up ? It must be 
repented of and forsaken, some one will say. All very 
well and true and scriptural. But this is not the 
whole work. The repenting and forsaking are only 
the first steps in the work. What indeed does the 
Bible mean by the forsaking of the evil, but the prac- 
tising also of the opposite virtue ? Mere repenting 
and forsaking are negative in their force, without cor- 
responding obedience and faithfulness. There is no 
such thing as a vacuum in the spiritual, any more than 
in the natural kingdom. A negative state is not known 
in moral things. 



388 THESE FOR THOSE. 

sions are exterminated or modified by culti- 
vating the good affections. Any thing that 
costs a sacrifice tends to give us character. 
That which roots up selfishness, plants be- 
nevolence ; and the culture of benevolence 
kills out the covetous passions. Whatever 
crucifies the selfish passions creates moral 
principle ; in turn, creating moral principle, 
crucifies the passions. That which crosses 
the vile affections crushes them. And, pray, 
what so crosses these, as the giving up of 
idols? It is profitable to do as we were 
created to do, as we are commanded to do, 
and what will do us and others the greatest 
good. It puts us upon a mount of influence, 
and will give us a crown of blessedness. 

God works in the spiritual world by 
means of tests, as well as opposites ! Condi- 
tions are of the nature of tests. Love 
stood for the whole law under the Old 
Testament, and faith is comprehensive of 
the whole of religion under the New Testa- 
ment. It is indexical as a grace, — denoting 



ONE FOR ALL. 389 

the presence of all the Christian virtues. 
All the law is fulfilled by love. Love indi- 
cates, yea includes, universal obedience. He 
that loveth another hath kept the whole law. 
And faith that works by love, under the 
dispensation of the gospel, stands for all the 
Christian graces. It denotes their presence, 
it is the test of Christian character. By 
grace are ye saved through faith. God uses 
tests in his kingdom. He proves men. 
These are indicative, representative and 
counteractive. God conditions salvation on 
these tests or points, where the soul most 
needs conditioning and testing. He puts 
these tests over against our greatest depravity. 
To be saved there must needs be submission, 
surrender, self-renunciation. These bear 
against and break clown the cherished idola- 
tries of the heart. God proves us, tests us, 
probes us. He puts salvation on the ground 
of personal submission, of self-surrender, of 
self-emptying ! In view of these great facts, 
we learn the value of that which the mis- 



390 THESE FOR THOSE. 

sionary work cultivates ; large giving, heart- 
giving. Active benevolence, in the form of 
disinterestedness, must take the place of 
selfishness within. Submission that empties 
us of selfishness implies active obedience. 
Consecration works through devotion and 
sacrifice. Self-renunciation connects itself 
with pure love. Jt is the taking of God's 
will for our own will. Renunciation is a 
giving up, devotion is an offering up, of 
what? talents, possessions, all unto the Lord. 

Gospel tests are of great things, and not 
of small things. They are for the healing 
of great sins, so far as things connected 
with human agency go. God conditions 
spiritual welfare on the doing of those things 
that are naturally disagreeable to us. So 
our sincerity is proved, and the character 
benefited. The sentiment that allows the 
soul to drift in all wrong ways, is neither 
a proof nor a test of Christian character. 

One of the things that most needs the 
regulating influence of religion is the prop- 



INFLUENCE OF MONEY. 391 

erty relation. Covetousness connects itself 
with the acknowledged right to get and to hold 
property, — selfishness has its growth on 
this ground. The character is tested here. 
Property is every man's right in the civil- 
ized state. In a restricted sense, money 
answereth all things. It procures whatever 
selfishness craves. If not acquired and 
used properly, its possession becomes an 
idolatry. So this gift, or the use of it, 
is a test of character. It is an occasion 
of grievous temptation, or of moral and 
spiritual growth. The getting of property, 
also the using of property, are tests. 
Whatever serves as a motive to the right 
use of property in benevolent enterprise, 
not only benefits society, but strengthens 
moral principle and character. We con- 
demn the getting of wealth in a dishonest 
way, but are apt to honor those who possess 
it, though they withhold from others. Look 
at this matter in a moral point of view. 
Which is worse in the sight of God, the 



392 THESE FOR THOSE. 

wrong getting of property, or the wrong 
using of it? Which is worse, to wrong men 
in its acquisition, or to wrong them in the 
withholding? We wrong God and wrong 
men by a covetous keeping of our posses- . 
sions, as really as we do by a fraudulent 
getting of them. In acquiring property it 
is easy to see that it is wrong to take 
advantage of others ; and having gotten 
property, it is equally wrong to withhold it 
in a way that injures others in need of help. 
In all this matter pertaining to property, — 
the getting and the using, we are responsible 
to God. All things are his, and we are 
under the same obligation to use our wealth 
properly, as we are to obtain it properly. 
The statute allows us to accumulate and 
possess, and to withhold from the public 
want, no matter how many suffer in conse- 
quence of it. But the law of Christ puts 
men on different ground. It goes beyond 
statute law ; it regulates our using of prop- 
erty. It extends to our stewardship. It 



SELF-REGARD. 393 

looks to our higher relations ; and at the 
disposal we make of the things of Gocl. 
The rich man in torment was there for deeds 
and for neglects such as took place at his 
palace gate, when Lazarus lay there. It 
mattered less with him in the other world, 
whether he had obtained his possessions 
wrongfully, or whether he had wrongfully 
kept them when mercy required their bestow- 
ment. God gives wealth; and is robbed 
when it is wrongfully withheld. 

But the highest Christian self-regard 
would seem to lead one to clo good with 
his property. We have need to give, for 
our own welfare as well as for that of others. 
True charity has an introspective glance. 
Not that one's own good is the motive to 
Christian sacrifice, but such sacrifice really 
tends to promote one's own gain. True 
giving leaves, as well as bestows a blessing. 
Giving is receiving in the Saviour's view, 
and obtains the greater blessing. Selfish- 
ness is good will to one, and indifference 



o 



94 THESE FOR THOSE. 



to the many. It accumulates for one re- 
gardless of the many. This is an immor- 
ality in the view of heaven. But can that 
course which leads to one's own ruin be really 
called the course of good-will to one's self, 
even? When we give benevolently, we do 
not give away; we invest for the future. 
The gift becomes a possession. It is still 
ours in the highest and best sense. We 
have really, what we give aright. It is not 
in our hands ; but it is in the safe of Heaven. 
We have the pledge of more even in the 
present life, if we give bountifully and 
benevolently. We may not have it in the 
identical things bestowed, but in a form 
more real and useful to us and others, and in 
which it cannot be taken away. Neither 
moth nor rust can corrupt that which we 
have given for Christ, and which God makes 
truly our own. 

Foreign missions have had a commanding 
influence in this respect. They have brought 
before the churches the highest and purest 



PRESIDENT HAMLIN. 395 

of all motives to benevolence. "Missions," 
says Pres. Hamlin of Constantinople, "have 
done a noble work toward making us a 
generous, benevolent, — instead of a mean, 
•money-loving people. Our Roberts, Pea- 
boclys and Vassars will multiply in the 
future, and cover the world with their mon- 
uments of love and good will to man. The 
missionary spirit is in all this." Surely 
missions have uncovered the wretchedness 
of the nations, and have brought out the 
strongest motives to send them Christianity. 
Our missionary societies have simplified the 
methods of this work, and facilitated the 
ways of accomplishing it. Our missionaries 
have set the example of self-denial, — have 
gone to the distant habitations of wickedness, 
and asked us to sustain them there. Pow- 
erful motives have been set before the 
churches to induce them to give as God has 
prospered them, to promote this work. 
The effect has been only partial, and yet 
indifference diminishes, interest is increas- 



396 THESE FOR THOSE. 

ing, good results are felt not only in the 
foreign field, but here at home, in cultivating 
the habit of Christian giving, and thus 
regulating and sanctifying the property 
relation. And what good object here at. 
home even, does not feel the influence of the 
increased benevolence of the a^e? 

I do not maintain that the change that has 
come over the Christian world in the matter 
of benevolence is due wholly to foreign mis- 
sions. Other Christian enterprises have 
helped to produce it. I only affirm that 
foreign missions have been a leading cause of 
this change. They have given a new spring 
to moral enterprise, put a new element of 
power into practical godliness. 

I ought to add here that the foreign mis- 
sionary work has developed, in a wonderful 
manner, the spirit of benevolence abroad, in 
the feeble mission churches. Those poor 
saints, in Turkey, India and Africa, may 
well put men to the blush here in this Chris- 
tian land. The sacrifices they make to sup- 



REV. C. H. WHEELER. 397 

port and to spread the gospel are truly 
marvelous. We have need to sit at their 
feet in this thing. They are the missionaries 
to us. We are yet the idolaters in a sense. 
The following extract from " Ten Years on 
the Euphrates," Rev. C. H. Wheeler, — a 
book that ought to be in the hands of every 
Christian, — illustrates the subject in hand : 

" Soon after the annexation of the Arabkir territory 
to our field, Mr. Barnum and I went to visit Shepik, 
and saw the deep poverty of the people ; we exclaimed, 
* No wonder that during all these years the people 
have paid but two dollars and twenty cents to their pas- 
tor ! ' . . . The pastor, who, previous to his conversion, 
had been one of that incurably sluggish and covetous 
race, the Armenian priesthood, did not get as much as 
he thought he needed, and came to us to complain. We 
referred him to the * Evangelical Union,' then in ses- 
sion; and a satisfaction it was to see the faithful, 
practical way in which they examined into the case, 
coming at last to the decision that his own want of 
energy had been the cause of his people's inactivity. 
They decided that he should leave them, and go as a 
missionary to a village near, where the opposition of 
the people would wake him up, and that ' John Concor- 
dance ' should take his place for a time. 



398 THESE FOR THOSE. 

" The blind preacher went, and, to the complaints of 
the people about poor crops and poverty, replied, 
1 God tells you the reason, in the third chapter of 
Maiachi, where he says, " Ye are cursed with a curse, 
for ye have robbed me."* Then, taking for a text, 
' Bring ye all the tithes,' etc., he began to preach the 
duty and privilege of setting apart at least a tenth of 
their earnings for God. He enforced the duty not as a 
Mosaic rule of action, but as something enjoined from 
the earliest times, and as of pre-eminently binding 
force on Christians. ' Did not even Abraham pay 
tithes ? • he inquired. ■ And if the Jews, with only their 
own home work to care for, besides expending so much 
for sacrifices, and in traveling to and from the temple, 
were obliged to pay one-tenth to the Lord's treasury, 
Christians surely should do no less. Does not Jesus 
say that the Pharisees ought not to " leave undone" 
the tithing of their herbs ? And does not the apostle 
say to the Corinthians, "Upon the first day of the 
week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God 
has prospered him " ? ' He then called to mind the 
words of the Lord Jesus which the apostle exhorted 
the Ephesians to remember, 'It is more blessed to 
give than to receive.' Going on still further, he dwelt 
upon the sin of a Christian's sitting still and waiting 
for the collector to come and dun him for the amount 
due the Lord's treasury. ' Don't you see,' said he, ' the 
command is, Bring ye all the tithes? Why not bring 
your offerings of money to God as much as those of 
prayer and praise ? ■ 



REV. C. E. WHEELER. 399 

"The blind man had seen the pith of the matter 
better than we who had eyes, and his fitly-chosen 
words produced the desired result. Including the 
family of the absent pastor, there were in the Protes- 
tant community eighty-two persons, old and young, of 
whom, including the pastor and his son, sixteen were 
adult males. But of these sixteen, two were wander- 
ing in distant parts, one was a blind beggar, and .one a 
simpleton, leaving, besides the pastor and his son, ten 
adult males, six of whom, with ten females, were mem- 
bers of the church. Most of them cultivate the soil, 
the owner of which exacts half of the crop for rent, 
and the government takes a tenth of the remainder for 
taxes. 1 

"They all gave another tenth to the Lord's * store- 
house,' a room which they set apart to receive the 
tithes. Thither they bore one- tenth of all which 
came to their hand, he who went to the city to labor 
for twenty cents a day bringing two for the Lord's 
portion. The man who caught fish from the neighbor- 
ing stream sold one of ten for the Lord ; and even the 
blind old beggar brought a tenth of his gatherings to 
the same depository. Enjoying this so much, they 
agreed to bring another tenth for building a chapel, 
and promptly paid the amount." 



1 'No one, who has not seen oriental poverty, can at all realize how 
very poor these people were. Most of the houses as well as lands 
belong to the Turkish owner ; and T think it may safely be said that 
all their property, including clothes and household utensils, would 
not exceed twenty-five hundred dollars in value. 






400 THESE FOR THOSE. 

The Tithing system which our mission 
churches are adopting largely in the East, 
often imposes a greater sacrifice upon them 
than it would be to Christians here at home, 
to give three-fourths, or even nine-tenths, 
of the whole income. The one-tenth given 
often leaves them more destitute than the 
giving of nine-tenths would in this country. 

But their example of sacrifice in the way 
of giving is taking root all over the world. 
It is stirring up Christians to greater benevo- 
lence. They are compelled to condemn this 
course in the oriental Christians, or to con- 
demn themselves for the meagerness of their 
own charities. 

Notice here the spirit of giving that has 
gone into our Sabbath-schools. Twenty 
years ago the Sabbath-school children in 
our country gave very little, if any thing, 
for foreign missions. They were not in 
the habit of systematic giving at all. They 
were not even asked to give. This is true 
to a very large extent. 

Now the children in the Sabbath-schools 



CHILDREN'S GIFTS. 401 

often contribute regularly for the support of 
mission schools. The children in the Con- 
gregational churches in the poorest District 
of the whole country, are giving from three 
to four thousand dollars to this cause 
annually. They do this with great apparent 
cheerfulness, and their gifts are increasing 
year by year. They build missionary 
ships and support mission schools. They 
have responded to home objects, too. As 
soon as it was known that the children 
were giving for mission schools, it was 
natural that they should be kindly invited by 
representatives of other Christian charities, 
to give for these also. The response has 
been cheerful and prompt, and without for- 
getting the heathen children. The results 
of these early habits of benevolence upon 
the children themselves cannot be, measured. 
The money they give for mission schools 
has value ; but the habit of early and cheer- 
ful giving has far greater value. It teaches 
them to live according to the Saviour's 
rule. 26 



402 THESE FOR THOSE. 

It is an early recognition on their part of 
the fact that their little means are not their 
own, and of their obligation to use them 
so as to do the greatest amount of good to 
others. If the child earns or saves the 
little sums given, the habit of useful econ- 
omy, as well as of self-denial, is cultivated. 
How clear the conclusion now, that we need 
the cause of foreign missions as churches 
and as Christians, upon which to stretch the 
faith, and expand the affections. It gives us 
a work to do that is worthy of our redemp- 
tion, and that corresponds to our destiny. 
We have need of something before us as 
Christians, the very thought of which is an 
inspiration, — an inspiration that shall make 
every thing else seem cheap, save as it can 
be used to promote that object. Surely, if 
the intellect needs a world to expand itself 
upon, in the way of development, the heart, 
yet more, needs a world to expand itself upon, 
in the way of spiritual knowledge and growth. 
For if human knowledge is not complete till 



WHAT THE HEART REQUIRES. 403 

it masters science and natural law, and 
reaches the goal of ultimate discovery and 
enterprise, no more is Christian love com- 
plete, till it has fathomed the woes of man, 
and embraced in the reach of its sympathies, 
the whole world. Its grand end is not 
gained till it has conquered the world for 
Jesus Christ. 

I have found it difficult to reach my con* 
ception by adequate language, of the en- 
largement given to Christian enterprise and 
character by means of the foreign missionary 
work. I leave this Topic with particular 
dissatisfaction on this account. For while 
my language may seem exaggerated or 
extravagant to some, I feel that it fails to 
express adequately the grandeur of moral 
results in the development of Christianity,, 
in our country. I repeat here a thought 
I wrote upon another page : Our own com- 
plete evangelization as a people, is to be 
reached through efforts and sacrifices to 
evangelize the world. And if foreign mis- 



404 THESE FOR THOSE. 

sions were a total failure, the enterprise 
were not a failure. For if all were lost that 
is done across the sea, all were gain this 
side the sea. For God would see to it that 
well-meant work, though a failure, should 
have its recognition and its recompense. 
He would • counteract disheartening influ- 
ences, and nerve his people up to new effort, 
with redoubled zeal for the salvation of the 
world. 

But as the case is, the work, having suc- 
ceeded and triumphed, demonstrating the 
worth and power of Christianity, reacts upon 
the doers of it in the happiest way, — which 
it is my joy here to record. 

I will say once more, — that no one may 
fail to see the point of the book, — that I do 
not advocate foreign missions in view of 
these reflex results ; for they do not constitute 
the grand, primary motive to them, but are 
subordinate, collateral, incidental only. We 
send men to the heathen to convert them, or 
to preach the gospel to them. We do this 



RECAPITULATION. 405 

in obedience to the Saviour's command, and 
because the heathen are in a perishing condi- 
tion without Christ, so that nothing but the 
gospel will save them. These are the stand- 
ing motives to foreign missions. The ques- 
tion how the work affects us as a race, as a 
nation, as a government, or in ways of 
wealth and learning, or in Christian develop- 
ment, is not the prime one, nor the principal 
one. It is nevertheless interesting to know 
how they react upon those who engage in 
them, and to find that they promote every 
good interest and thing. So while I would 
not advocate missions on these grounds, I 
would not ignore these great facts. To do 
so would be to dishonor God, and to over- 
look a grand law in his kingdom ; to wit, the 
profitableness of sacrifice, of consecration, of 
godliness, where more is given in the present 
life, for what we give up for Christ* 

I have no doubt, too, that the respect for 
the Christian religion has been increased 
since it assumed the foreign missionary 



406 THESE FOR THOSE. 

work : I do not say, though I have no doubt, 
that it has been multiplied on this account. 
The moral grandeur of the work reflects cor- 
responding credit upon the system or source 
that inspired it. The moral power of the 
churches in our land, too, has increased in 
large ratio, since it undertook the work of 
evangelizing the world. This enlargement 
of enterprise has told on every benevolent 
home work. Nothing would so cripple 
home movements and humanities as the 
abandoning of the foreign missionary field. 
It would be felt in our commerce, in our 
diplomacy, in all our home thrift ; but no- 
where would such abandonment of this great 
central movement of Christianity in our age, 
be so deeply, sorely felt as in moral and 
Christian labor. Our indebtedness to mis- 
sions is thus seen, and becomes a powerful 
motive to sustain them. 

I now leave the subject, satisfied to have 
indicated only this resultant influence of for- 
eign missions. This view is but a reflection ; 



ECHOES AND REFLECTIONS. 407 

there is nothing primary and fundamental in 
it. The influence here brought out to view 
is simply resultant or reflex ; it is not direct 
and original. And yet there is in the natu- 
ral world, a beauty in reflections, a music in 
echoes and reverberation, which combine to 
reach the grandest effects in art and beauty 
and melody. 

These reflections prove the genuineness of 
the original in nature, and sounds that trem- 
ble back to the ear, tell in sweetest tones the 
story of their origin and travel. So in 
these reproduced influences of heaven-born 
charity, we are carried up to the sublime 
source, and are led to adore with warmest 
affection, that world-love that originated and 
inspired this work for a world. 

I am, therefore, too happy to be per- 
mitted, in this indirect manner, and in the 
use of arguments and considerations not 
usual, to re-plead the cause of Christian mis- 
sions, as a work we owe to the heathen, 
on the ground that we had ceased to be 



408 THESE FOR THOSE. 

heathen ourselves as a result of missions ; 
and passing over other results to the nation, 
government, to learning, and the like, I 
plead for them as the sole method of saving 
the perishing ; as the only practical fulfil- 
ment of the command of Christ ; confident 
thus that I plead for what is dear to the 
heart, and enters into the ripening purposes, 
of heaven; and, also, for a work that stands 
out as the golden key to prosperity in secu- 
lar enterprise, and in the activities and ulti- 
mate triumphs of the church. 



ANSWER TO SOME OBJECTIONS. 



" We object to your work, or the theory of it, 
because it savors of a certain kind of universalism, 
in aiming at the conversion of the whole world to 
Christ. It proceeds on the ground of a visionary 
millennium such as God has not promised and will 
not give." " You seek to save the world, — while 
you ought to labor to save an elect people, and thus 
develop an ecclesia from the nations, over which the 
Lord shall reign as king of saints. " 

I have from time to time had to meet objections 
like the above, and sometimes from sources of great 
influence and learning. 

I indicate the following as a reply, in part. We 
aim as a missionary Board simply to obey the words 
of Christ. He commanded his followers to evan- 
gelize all nations. Are we to attempt less than this? 
The evangelizing of the nations does not involve 
the salvation of every individual. Christ did not 
send forth his disciples to evangelize the chosen 
people, but every creature. He did not command 
them to save the elect out of the nations, but to 



410 THESE FOR THOSE. 

evangelize the nations themselves. He would have 
them do this, to develop an elect people, and thus 
meet a condition on which God's election stands. 
For let it not be forgotten that election, while it is 
sovereign, is not absolute. It is conditioned, not 
on the foreseen repentance and good works of the 
creature, but on the presence of Christian institu- 
tions, and the preaching of the gospel among the 
people. Election, indeed, does not out-reach Chris- 
tian institutions. It does not go beyond them. The 
purposes of God and the power of God plant these, 
through human agency ; then it comes to pass that a 
condition of the election of God is fulfilled. So we 
see the need of the gospel preached, and of Chris- 
tian institutions, as a pre-condition of the divine 
election and influence. For how shall they believe 
in him of whom they have not heard; and how shall 
they hear without a preacher; and how shall they 
preach except they be sent? We give the gospel 
to men that a remnant may be saved; that there 
may be a holy seed, a chosen people to serve 
the Lord. We do not know who that people are. 
Christ has not told us; and yet he knows who they 
are ; for they are his, — given to him in the covenant 
of redemption. We should not know how to preach 
the gospel among the heathen, nor to whom, — if 
we aimed only at the elect, and were limited to them. 
But Christ has relieved us here, and told us just 



ANSWER TO SOME OBJECTIONS. 411 

what to do, namely, to preach the gospel to every 
creature. So we shall surely reach the chosen ones. 
It makes good a condition of their election and sal- 
vation, — the establishing of Christian institutions 
and influences among them. We are commanded 
to preach the gospel. We have to do with God's 
commands, rather than with his purposes. We send 
this gospel to the nations, — not, indeed, for their 
civilization primarily, but to enlighten and save 
them. I say again, there would be no chosen people 
in a nation, if there were no Bible nor gospel there. 
There are none in countries that have not these. 
There would have been none in Britain and America 
if Christianity had not come to these nations. The 
election of God rests on Christian light and influence. 
If there would as surely be a remnant, or chosen 
people, in lands that have no gospel, as there is in 
those that have it; if by sleeping on in paganism men 
would as promptly wake to righteousness in the re- 
generation, then might Jesus have stayed in heaven, 
and saved himself from the crucifixion; or having 
come to earth, — might have withheld his command 
to enlighten and evangelize it. "No, we do not 
believe in any thing like a universalism of missionary 
achievement, but hope in due time, the world will 
become a different world in a spiritual point of view, 
from what it now is, in consequence of the gospel 
preached to all nations. 



OTHER OBJECTIONS. 



It has been urged as an objection against oar 
Board, that it is not Congregational, or is not an off- 
spring of the churches ecclesiastically. I meet this 
objection occasionally. It is sometimes urged with 
much warmth of feeling. The views that follow 
have sometimes been presented in reply. 

It might be perilous to change the organization 
of a society like this, from a permanent to a pop- 
ular basis. It is of importance that a work like that 
of foreign missions should be stable, and not be sub- ■ 
ject to fluctuations, experiments or sudden changes. 
There was need to be progress and improvement, to 
be sure, as also permanency and steadfastness. 
Public opinion in the church is liable to frequent and 
sudden changes. It sympathizes often with the 
impulses of an outside civilization and nationality; 
and where the constituency of a missionary Board 
is broadened so as to embrace the great Christian 
public, there will be constant liability to revolution, 
or sudden change in the work abroad. 

In the matter of self-government the popular 



OTHER OBJECTIONS. 413 

voice has need to be heard; and the constituency 
may be safely extended. It is otherwise in a busi- 
ness like this, not affecting our personal rights or 
safety, but the great interests of Zion. There is 
need of the element of consistency and permanency, 
to secure the highest ends with the least peril and 
cost. 

But I do not like the thought that Congregation- 
alism is circumscribed to its own peculiar ways of 
working; that it cannot go outside of itself to do 
good; that it cannot enter safely into broad and 
catholic organizations and sympathy for usefulness. 
It is a self-governing system for religious purposes, 
or in religious things, and hence we like it. It is an 
institution for religion in its spiritual aspects and 
development. But it does not follow that the prin- 
ciple so useful and convenient in church-govern- 
ment and worship, would work well in business 
ways. In the vast complications of a world-wide 
management of affairs, too many votes and voices 
might be inconvenient. That which was for strength, 
in higher spiritual matters, might be for weakness 
in complicated financial affairs. The American 
Board must not be swayed by party politics, or the 
sudden changes of society. Its high character, the 
world over, is owing half to its calm wisdom, its 
progressive course, its far-reaching and steadfast 
policy. Its pecuniary credit abroad would not have 



414 THESE FOR THOSE, 

been what it now is, if the Board had been an un- 
certain, fluctuating institution. 

But we ought not to be censured for the organic 
structure of the American Board, from the fact 
that we are not responsible for this. We inherited 
it, we did not originate it. It is the work of a pre- 
ceding generation. And to change its basis now, 
were a difficult thing. It is a Board of Trust, it is a 
chartered institution. It holds property in various 
ways and countries, which cannot easily be alien- 
ated. And legacies are made to it on this very 
ground of its permanency, that would not have been 
made, if it rested on a popular basis, and was sub- 
ject to the fluctuations of a fickle public senti- 
ment. 

But it is nevertheless urged that we should man- 
age our own charities in our way, or in a church 
way, or as we do our other religious matters. 

But when the Board was formed we had no 
denominational organizations of an ecclesiastical 
nature, save the temporary or ephemeral Council of 
the churches. 

There were no State and County Conferences 
then, no grand Convocations of the body! How 
then could the churches as such have been brought 
to act on this subject? How could they represent 
themselves; how could they reach the question, or 
the question reach them? 



OTHER OBJECTIONS. 415 

But worse than this, the churches had no zeal 
in foreign missions at the time the A. B. C. F. M. 
was formed. And if this question had been left to 
them, it would have been decided in the negative, 
as chimerical and preposterous. There would have 
been no foreign missionary movement in the 
churches, save as it came from an outside, educat- 
ing movement from some source or Board above 
their own standard. 

And even if the churches had been ready for the 
movement, and such a movement would have been 
safe and wise in an ecclesiastical form, the 
churches were weak comparatively, and it be- 
came necessary that different denominations unite 
in the work. But would the Presbyterians, or 
the Dutch Keform Church, have been willing 
to co-operate with us in foreign mission work, to 
be carried on congregationally or ecclesiastically? 
The thing cannot be supposed for a moment. We 
could not have worked with them in missions, if 
every movement was to be conformed to the stiff 
machinery of sect. 

The point of argument on this subject is, per- 
haps, less apparent now than in past years, when 
there was more occasion than now to use this rea- 
soning. We were, in other years, in the fullest and 
highest sense a co-operative body in the foreign 
missionary work. We are so now in some sense. 



416 THESE FOR THOSE. 

It will be long, I trust, before our brethren of the 
Presbyterian church, who have labored with us so 
faithfully, will all leave us. So the argument that 
had conclusive force in other years, as against 
narrowing our Board to an ecclesiastical basis, has 
force yet. We could not ask those brethren to 
continue with us if we should resolve to work exclu- 
sively in the ecclesiastical way. I have said, Congre- 
gationalism need not be narrowed and stiffened into 
one exclusive way of working, when that one way 
of working even, if carried too far, and made to in- 
clude the management of business affairs and organ- 
izations, might prove inconvenient and perilous. 

Nor do I say that the popular basis is impossible. 
Great changes come. If Congregationalists should 
ever have to control the Board exclusively, we 
shall stand, I hope, on higher ground than we now 
do, — and be better able to grapple with coming 
questions than we now are. 

Elaborate plans have been put forth or suggested, 
upon which to manage this popular machinery 
when once set in motion. One is this: let the giv- 
ing of blank dollars, say $100, be the least sum 
given by any one church or individual, that shall 
entitle the giver to a vote or representation at the 
meeting. 

But there might be dissatisfaction on the part of 
weaker churches, who cannot come up to this 



OTHER OBJECTIONS. 417 

sum. And then how with churches that give hun- 
dreds and thousands? Are they to be put on a level 
with the least in the matter of representation? 
Would it be sufferable? But give them a represen- 
tation according to their donations! That, how- 
ever, would swell the constituency beyond all con- 
venience. The effect, indeed, would be to lessen 
interest in the feeble churches, who should fail of a 
vote on account of their weakness; as, also, the 
ardor of the wealthy churches, by not having a 
proportionate representation in the affairs of the 
Board. 

27 



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Helps at the Mercy Seat. 

BY 

Rev, J. M, PUTNAM. 

Consisting of Prayers from the Scriptures, 
Old Divines, and tlie Poets. 

Cloth Extra, Square 24mo. 272 pp. Price §1.50. 



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* For thee, O dear, dear country, mine eyes their vigils 
keep,' are among the gems of the collection. Mr. 
Putnam's original hymns are clear and musical expres- 
sions of thoughts, which are none the worse for every 
day use, because they are as old as human nature. 
The book is elegantly printed by John Wilson & Son, 
of Cambridge, on tinted paper, with a rubricate title- 
page." — Portland Advertiser. 

"Recent Publications. — A charming little volume 
entitled ' Helps at the Mercy Seat,' is published this 
day by Hoyt, Fogg & Breed, of this city. The volume 
consists of original hymns and selections, by Rev. 
John M. Putnam. The contents are : Morning Devo- 
tions; General Devotions ; Safety in Gocl ; Faith; The 
Lord's Prayer; Old Age- f Holy Spirit; The Sabbath; 
Our Lambs; Mght Watches; Prayer; Confidence in 
Christ; Prayer to Jesus; Longing after God; Contri- 
tion; Praise; Death; Affliction; Heaven. The book 
is finely printed and handsomely bound, and for sale 
by the publishers." — Portland Press. 



TWELVE YEARS WITH THE CHILDREN. 

BY REV. W. WARREN, 

DISTRICT SECRETARY OF THE AMERICAN BOARD. 

Cloth, 16mo. 324 pages. Four Illustrations. $1.35. 



Rev. Dr. A. P. Peabody says: "Rev. Mr. Warren's 
' Twelve Years with the Children ' is an admirable book 
of its kind, and its kind is among the best kinds. It 
bears the marks of the godly simplicity and kindness 
which have won for him a place in the hearts of chil- 
dren. In its form it will attract juvenile readers, and 
in its spirit it cannot fail of enduring benefit to large 
numbers of the now rising generation." 

Dr. A. C. Thompson, Boston Highlands, says : 
" ' Twelve Years with the Children,' — years of great 
plenty, well registered, cheery, juicy, 'having borne 
twelve manner of fruits.' In such company and work, 
the author keeps himself young, and helps others to 
Ijeep young too. This work should have a place in 
our homes and Sabbath- schools, till the Saviour's last 
command has been fulfilled." 

" A wiser, more genial man for the preparation of 
such a. book it would be hard to find. Here are stories, 
beautifully applied and improved, about Crossing the 
River, The Wrong Car, The Launch, The Gold Dollar, 
The Dialogue, The Wild Children, The Heathen Girl, 
The Mice, How a Boy got his Money, etc. The mot- 
toes which these stories illustrate are, ' Begin right,' 
1 Do your best,' ' Do as you would be done by,' ' Do as 
you will wish you had done when you come to die.' 
What parent does not wish to have his children inter- 
ested and established in these great principles?" — 
Congregational Beview, Boston. 

"The Rev. W. Warren's 'Twelve Years with the 
Children' is an ingeniously interesting volume, and 
for some grown people as well as for little folks. Four 
mottoes are chosen : (1) < Begin right,' (2) ■ Do your 



best,' (3) * Do as you would be done by,' (4) * Do as you 
will wish you had when you come to die ' ; then a great 
many facts and incidents, many of them drawn from 
the mission work with which the author has had large 
familiarity, are given as echoes of, or responses to, or 
endorsement upon these mottoes ; and with this warp 
of the book the 'filling' is interwoven. Beginning 
thus, and having this always before him as an end, he 
has been led to a comprehension of child-nature and 
child-needs, which gives him command of a style, 
simple and comprehensible, yet often graphic and im- 
pressive, and which has led him to write, in this, what 
seems to us to be a very good book indeed, for Sabbath- 
schools, for families, and for individual reading. It is 
a safe book, for it is the outbreathings of a heart which 
loves Christ, and would lead to Christ; and that is 
more than can be said of scores even of the professional 
Sabbath-school books of the day." — Congregationalist. 

"To the many who know the excellent and genial 
author of this volume, it will need no recommendation, 
as they will recall his pleasant and stimulating talks at 
once, and be eager to get the large number of them, 
heard and unheard, that are found, in all their fresh- 
ness and vivacity, between these covers. 

"To those who have not seen and heard him, we 
may say that this volume is brimful of excellent coun- 
sels, pithy sayings, stories that have both a meaning 
and a moral; familiar talks, that are sure to reach both 
brain an/ heart, and encouragement to 'trust in the 
Lord and do good,' that will be found both cheering 
and useful. 

" Most of what here appears is especially adapted to 
children, but few are either so old or so wise as to be 
beyond the reach of the author's far-reaching aim and 
steady reach after usefulness. It is a book to stir bet- 
ter purposes and higher ambition, and make the heart 
abound still more in charity and hope." — Morning Star. 



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